Higgs Group printing and publishing company received an OxFutures grant from GreenFund to install new lighting and insulation to increase the energy efficiency of their building.

The Project

Higgs has been the leading printing and publishing company in Henley on Thames for over 100 years. They provide quality print and publishing services to businesses in and around the local area.

Staff at the Higgs Group had several issues with their lighting – they had several maintenance issues with them regularly and didn’t like the way they looked in the shop and advertising area. Very few of the lights that were originally installed in the building were LEDs, therefore, by changing them over Higgs would be able to save thousands of pounds as well improving the atmosphere in their offices and shop spaces. The Higgs Group office has top floor flat that extends much of your building, however, the energy assessment spotted that there was no insulation in the accessible loft space above some of the offices. By increasing insulation heat losses will be minimised in winter and heat gains will be reduced in summer.

LED lights are more energy-efficient and exist for nearly every fitting. They can reduce electricity use by up to 90% compared to other light fixtures. Additionally, LEDs last up to 35,000 hours before they need to be replaced (fluorescent lights last 15,000 hours) resulting in reduced maintenance costs. The lights have been completed for a few months now and the new light installations are much brighter, improve the look of the shop/advertising space immensely and are cheaper to run. The lights have currently been running maintenance-free and if this continues and brings down the electricity bill then Higgs Group will have been able to save a significant amount of money.

Up to 25% of the building’s heat was being lost through the roof. Higgs Group installed loft insulation to a recommended level of 300mm to maximise heat retention in the building. The insulation is now almost complete, it has taken a bit of time due to the condition the lofts were in before work starting. The time taken spent laying the insulation should have great benefits such as: minimising heat losses in winter, reducing heat gains in summer and improving comfort levels for the users. The heating bill should see a welcome reduction as well!