by Brianna Crandall — May 2, 2011—GE has joined forces with electricity supplier EDF, City Hall and the City of London Corporation in a private-public finance deal to install a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient lighting system on London’s Tower Bridge, which has recently undergone a major refurbishment of repainting and stone cleaning.
As well as reducing the bridge’s carbon footprint and energy costs, the initiative is expected to significantly enhance the global icon’s architectural features at night, at no cost to U.K. taxpayers, notes GE.
If given planning permission, the lighting design will feature GE’s LEDs and a new cabling system to enhance the building’s striking features—such as its gothic turrets, central aerial walkway and suspension chains—in colors sensitive to its listed status. The lighting system would be flexible, allowing for both varying colors and intensity of light, enabling Tower Bridge to respond to special events in a “unique and spectacular” manner.
Currently Tower Bridge has traditional, static flood-lighting, which can “flatten” the architecture, notes GE. The use of energy-efficient LED technology would reduce the energy consumption of the existing 25-year-old lighting system by an estimated average of 40 percent, says the company.
In the first phase, Global lighting provider Citelum, which provided lighting for Valley of the Kings in Egypt, Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur, and the Eiffel Tower, will design and begin installation works. EDF Energy will supply lighting electricity, matching every unit with power generated from low-carbon sources. If permission is granted, the work will start by September 2011 and be completed by spring 2012, in time for the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For more information, see the GE Web site.
