Manchester Town Hall

Circular economy retrofit supports the plan to make Manchester a zero-carbon city by 2038

Manchester City Council has set the ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2038, and has begun a six year programme of activity to decarbonise its estate of buildings. The iconic Manchester Town Hall was one of the first buildings to undergo a transformation, and Whitecroft was selected to supply the lighting, having previously installed bespoke luminaires in 2013.

Whitecroft’s brief was to balance the council’s environmental targets with the need for high quality lighting and aesthetics fit for the neo-gothic surroundings.

Drawing on principles of circular product design, which seeks to reduce the whole life carbon of lighting by prioritising reuse and replacement, Whitecroft identified a lighting solution that minimised the use of materials whilst increasing ongoing operational efficiency.

Annual energy saving in excess of 44%

Whitecroft upgraded the building’s Raft T5 Fluorescent lighting system, fitting 2,350 modular LED Gear Trays into the Raft. Upgrading rather than replacing the Raft lighting reduced waste by 70%, whilst improved lighting controls have reduced energy output by 44% - from 134kW to 75kW.

Manchester Town Hall’s upgraded lighting is projected to make energy savings in excess of 44%, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 38 tonnes CO2/year, whilst extending the lifecycle of the luminaires and facilitating future energy savings. Whitecroft is set to use similar principles to upgrade the lighting in two further Manchester City Council buildings later in 2022. 

38

tonnes of CO2 saved per year

44%

energy reduction as a result of the retrofit

2,350

retrofitted LED gear trays

Key Facts

Project Name

Manchester Town Hall

Location

Manchester

Key Partner

Lendlease

Contractor

Ameresco

1st install

2013

Retrofit

2021

Main focus

Circular economy

Download PDF version

Download now

Share this page

X