Mechelen: Sustainable Lighting for urban buildings

In 2017, the "De Zeeridder" municipal building, accommodating some of Mechelen's municipal employees, was the first building to have light installed as a service. "As a modern employer, the town of Mechelen is decisively committed to sustainability. Replacing our existing lumi-naires with LED lighting involves a certain investment volume, so light as a service was a high-ly interesting solution for us. We don't have to invest in lighting, we don't worry about mainte-nance and we can be sure that the lighting is qualitative and also sustainable," says Councillor for Sustainability Marina De Bie.

"Following "De Zeeridder", the lighting in Mechelen's Conservatory, Academy and Municipal Archives will soon be upgraded. The extension of the Cultural Centre was also taken into ac-count. Leasing prices vary from EUR 2,700 to 8,400 annually, depending on the size of the area to be illuminated in the building" informs Koen Anciaux, Councillor for Construction.

Long-term cooperation

In autumn 2017 the town submitted an application for climate subsidies from the Province of Antwerp. In March of the following year, Mechelen was named one of six winners of the EUR 75,000 climate grant for the Leenlicht project.

On the one hand this project consists of the Led op! campaign (the joint procurement of LED lighting) and, on the other, the further rollout of light as a service in several buildings in Mechelen.

The town teamed up with the German family-owned company TRILUX for the purpose. TRILUX has declared sustainability an inherent part of its strategy. "We are keen to enter into long-term partnerships and assume responsibility as a supplier for the complete service life of our luminaires. We're particularly proud of the cooperation with the town of Mechelen and see it as a unique opportunity to further develop our "Light as a Service" approach," says Willem Dammers, Managing Director of TRILUX Benelux.

Circular economy

"Offering products as a service (so-called "as a service" models) has been around for a while but is still a niche in the market. It's an important part of the transition to a circular economy though. After all, if you buy a service and not a product, it's in the provider's interest that the equipment has a long life and can still be used after the contract stops. Another factor – the town of Mechelen will be emitting one tonne less of CO2 each year by switching to LED."

Also read our blog article: Light as a Service for the town of Mechelen