Murco Petroleum is upgrading the lighting in its forecourt shops to LED luminaires provided by Philips Lighting, as part of its rolling refurbishment programme.

Murco has a network of over 225 company owned service stations across England, Scotland and Wales, each with a retail outlet operated under the Costcutter brand, and says it is continually seeking ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

For this reason it has decided to introduce the latest generation of LED lighting to increase energy efficiency in its shops, while also reducing the cost of ownership. Electrical contractor Peter Oakes, who has worked with Murco on many shop upgrades, was asked to explore possible solutions.

He said: “We have a very close relationship with Murco and wanted to ensure we found the best solution, in terms of performance, energy and cost. We began by obtaining a sample of all the LED options available and sent them for independent sphere testing to evaluate the claims made by the manufacturers.

“The Philips products literally ‘shone through’ and all of their claims were validated, so they were selected for the project. We also worked with Murco to develop a business case, which showed they could expect a return on investment within 15-18 months, depending on the type of store and the lighting being replaced.”

“We were very pleased with the results of the trials and decided to proceed with a roll-out programme,” said Amalan Poopal, Murco’s shop network manager.

“We upgraded around 30 shops during 2013 and expect to complete a further 30-35 by the end of 2014. These have been prioritised so that the shops with the oldest, least efficient lighting are upgraded first.”

He added: “In addition to the energy and carbon savings we have achieved, there is also a significant benefit having the Philips five-year warranty, as it means that the Murco contract managers who run the shops no longer have to spend time and money on lamp replacement.”