Work we can point to.

Ledison Lighting (division of Voltacon UK Limited) has completed its largest ever order totalling £1 million to supply energy-saving lights to the Royal Navy’s flagship warships. Voltacon has provided 100,783 tubes of LED Lighting for 21 of the UK’s Royal Navy fleet including the new Aircraft Carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Around 100 staff worked round-the-clock for 45 days to manufacture the LED tube lights at Voltacon’s factory in China to process the order in record time. The lights were then transported to Portsmouth naval base where the warships are docked in batches of between 8,000-10,000 to be installed by 40 electricians from BAE Systems.

Stefanos Kandilidis, managing director at Voltacon whose client base includes commercial and residential customers, said the Royal Navy had tested around 3,000 pieces of LED lighting before going ahead with the order for 21 ships which also includes:

• 6 Type 45 Destroyers
• 13 Type 23 Frigates
• 2 Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.

He said: “This is one of our biggest ever single orders of over £1 million and probably the largest off shore lighting contract in the world. “We had been in discussions with the Ministry of Defence for three years and they had also tested our lights for three years on the ships before the refurbishment work on the fleet began.

“Previously, the ships were fitted with fluorescent lights but there are many benefits in changing to LED lighting. “Lamps and tubes can be difficult to source and keeping spare parts when you are at sea is not easy but having LED energy-saving lights reduces costs, maintenance load and storage space as they last longer.

“Long-term, it reduces energy which is important when the ships are running on low power.”

Stefanos said the lights are now being installed on an opportunity basis when the ships are in dock so it may be 12 months before they are all fully fitted.

“We are really proud to have our lights installed on the Royal Navy’s fleet including the HMS Queen Elizabeth which is the UK’s new aircraft carrier with the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales in build in Rosyth Naval Dockyard,” he added.

Keith Young, of the Ministry of Defence’s procurement agency, Defence Equipment and Support, said: “It has been excellent to work with Voltacon. They are quite a small company compared with the ones we normally deal with, but this has been extremely beneficial as there has been more of a personal touch.

“The company has very good products which will be hugely beneficial to us and has been extremely flexible, ensuring that our order was processed quickly so that the lights are ready to install.”

www.ledison-led-lights.co.uk

Royal Navy Destroyers, Aircraft Carriers and Frigates become greener ships with Ledison T5 & T8 Tube Lights

LEDISON'S SPECIALISED LED LIGHT PRODUCTION FOR THE BRITISH MOD

Over the past five years, Ledison Lighting has supplied the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) with high-quality and durable LED lights for all warships, submarines, and aircraft carriers. The MOD selected Ledison, a lighting division of Voltacon UK Limited, to design and manufacture premium LED lights to meet their specialised lighting needs. Ledison has supplied 250,000 LED tubes so far, and many more will be needed in the next five years to accommodate new and old ships and submarines that require specialised light fixtures with a lifespan exceeding 50,000 hours.

WHY RED LIGHTS?

In 2023, Ledison Lighting received a new project from the MOD to produce red LED Lights. These lights preserve a submarine crew's night vision while allowing them to see their instrument panels, radars, computers, and other equipment. Ledison chose a 650Nm wavelength from the light spectrum, as the human eye is less sensitive to longer wavelengths.

These red LED tubes will replace the neo fittings that previously emitted red light using a painted sleeve over the tube, which is not an authentic way to produce the desired wavelength. Red lights are used in low-light conditions at periscope depth or when surfaced, and bright or white lights would impede the crew's ability to see in the dark and could reveal their position.

DOES RED LIGHT DIMINISH THE ABILITY TO SEE IN THE DARK?

Contrary to a common myth, red light actually supports the adjustment of vision in low-light conditions. Red lights are often used in submarines, airport control towers, and cinemas to aid viewers in transitioning from bright to dark lighting conditions. In particular, submarine crews need to acclimate their eyes before undertaking night watch on the surface, and red light is an effective means of facilitating this vision adjustment

PRODUCTION OF THE NEW T5 30CM TUBES

In Spring 2023, Ledison Lighting will produce 5,000 new T5 30cm tubes with only 6-watt power consumption. These tubes will be retrofitted into existing fixtures, and the old fluorescent lamps will be recycled. The LED tubes will be powered directly from the 110V 60HZ power supply, bypassing the electronic ballast that powered the fluorescent light

LOOKING AHEAD

Ledison's innovative designs have made a significant impact on the British MOD's warships, submarines, and aircraft carriers. The new red LED lights will enhance the safety and functionality of these vessels, ensuring the crew can perform their duties with ease and efficiency. With Ledison's commitment to producing high-quality, durable LED lights, its collaboration with the British MOD is expected to continue to be successful.

Voltacon was approached by Allseas, a multi-national company that lifts, installs, and removes enormous offshore structures and subsea pipeline. Allseas owns and operates a versatile fleet of vessels which have been responsible for setting new standards in the pipelaying industry. One such ship is Pioneering Spirit, the largest construction vessel ever built.

Voltacon was awarded one of the biggest contracts in the world to supply LED tube lights to three of Allseas’ vessels: Pioneering Spirit, Solitaire, and Audacia.

The Allseas Group

Allseas area global leaders in offshore pipeline installation, heavy-lift, and subsea construction. Experts in carrying out extensive and complex subsea construction projects, Allseas have their own state-of-the-art fleet of vessels. These specialised ships are designed, developed and built in-house for the single-lift installation and removal of large oil and gas platforms in deep waters, and to accommodate the equipment needed to install long pipelines for the oil and gas industries.

Tons of high power cables must be transported onboard for subsea installations. The fleet is responsible for the successful interconnection of continents and providing countries around the world with the energy they need to thrive.

Allseas’ Fleet of Game-Changing Vessels

The Allseas fleet includes:

Pioneering Spirit, the largest construction vessel ever built, which is designed for working with large oil and gas platforms and record-weight pipelines.

Solitaire, manufactured for massive deepwater pipelines and able to safely work in congested areas.

Audacia, which is exceptionally well-equipped for unconventional structures and can accommodate pipeline of any length and any water depth.

Lorelay, which represents a new generation of offshore pipe laying vessel, thanks to her large storage capacity and high transit speed.

Tog Mor, a shallow water pipelay barge.

Calamity Jane, a trenching support vessel.

The Challenge for Voltacon

Any offshore application for the Allseas Fleet is expensive, and can be logistically problematic. One of the key difficulties involves the ongoing and routine maintenance of basic essentials, such as lighting.

As well as the complications associated with supplying, repairing and replacing lights, other factors must be taken into account. Considerations include the harshness of the environment, the salty humidity of the air, and the extreme temperatures. On top of this, it is a requirement that lights on-board do not cause any distribution, both on the platforms and inside the ships.

The Solution

Voltacon designed and manufactured LED tube lights compatible with 230V and 110V AC voltage (50Hz/60Hz). The LED tube lights we supplied are extremely reliable and have a life expectancy of over 50,000 hours.

As a result, Allseas will reduce, or even eliminate, the maintenance cost associated with lighting on their vessels. The need to carry large amounts of spare parts is removed because the failure rate of Voltacon LED lights is extremely low: only 0.4 percent of the lights will fail in the next 10 years.

The Outcome for Allseas' Vessels

Voltacon also replaced the emergency lights systems on the vessels, installing cutting-edge,  remote battery back-up. Now, 30 percent of the light fittings are equipped with lithium batteries and the life expectancy of the emergency lighting is increased to 10 to 12 years by using the lithium batteries.

Between 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, Voltacon supplied four of Allseas’ largest vessels with LED tube lights. By the end of 2018, the entire fleet will be lit by Voltacon LED lights.

Allseas has worked on more than 275 projects and to date, they have installed approximately 20,000 km of subsea pipeline. We are proud to be able to play our part in the success of the company and the future of international oil and gas industries.

The team here at Voltacon are never ones to shy away from a challenging project or job. This is why it was with great excitement that we answered the call from the Institute of Civil Engineers, or ICE, in London.

The job, as described by the Institute's team, was a straightforward one at first glance, with some unique obstacles met along the way. The ICE already had an existing dimming control system in place. Our task was to retrofit the entire system, adding energy efficient LED tubes to the ICE's lighting fixtures in an effort to reduce power costs across the whole institute.

This relatively simple procedure was complicated by the building itself. The ICE is not a new building; built in Victorian times, the structure of the building features the high ceilings and large interior spaces which characterise structures from this period. When implementing our solution, we had to take this into account, crafting a result which would provide the institute with the lighting they need while preserving the character of the building.

We got to work. The existing control system for the dimmable fixtures involved an analogue system ranging from 1 to 10, controlled by a centralised console. We were able to upgrade the system to enable each light fitting to be controlled individually, with dimming from 0% to 100%.

75 LED tubes were changed in total, in one, simultaneous project. This means, little to no downtime for ICE at all. Many of these tubes were T8 LED tubes, with a 120 degree light beam diffused via an opaque lens. This translates to no shadowing on walls or ceilings.

The results of our work include a significant reduction in maintenance requirements and costs, thanks to the 15 year design life of the tubes and fittings we installed onsite. The ICE team has also found it easier to control the lighting to match the mood and atmosphere of the events they hold in their main halls.

The engineering team of Voltacon installed 12 dual-axis trackers with 13kW total power installed per tracking system. The smart layout on the frame, allowed the installation of 57 solar panels.  The aerodynamic of the galvanised mounting structure (despite the large surface) will not face any safety issues in strong winds.

The actual PV power per tracker is 13,395Watt. A normal system mounted on the ground generates 16,000kWh (considering a measurements in North Greece). Using a dual-axis system the energy yield will be increased by 20% . The data logger measured 21,000kWh from one tracker in the period of 12 months.

The risk of downtime has been reduced significantly because there is only one 0.75kW motor with high torque. The dual axis azimuth-altitude tracker is programmed by a SIEMENS PLC, there is no need to establish satellite connection. The user enters the altitude, latitude and date. The optimum coordinates and rotation during the year are predefined.

Our philosophy is to optimise every part of the solar park and customise the solution according to the requirements.We do not offer simply photovoltaic equipment but we engineer solutions for the best performance and availability.

Undisputed Performance

On average, if a 100kW solar plant has iverters and solar panels that were just 1% more efficient, thiscould result in about £850 (€1000)  additional energy generation per year.

Key Benefits of Voltacon Photovoltaic Stations

• Plant analysis help you see failures before they occur
• Optimizing delilvery of parts and labour service enable higher revenues
• Advanced analysis and services help you assure yield
• Reliable and Continuous energy output through optimised services and  knowledge management

Picture from the installation in Greece

One of our Car Park projects.