The Lowe & Oliver Blog

Electric vehicle (EV) charging enables drivers to charge or top up the battery of electric or hybrid vehicles at convenient intervals, while the vehicle is parked. EV chargepoints can be installed at homes with off-street parking, at places of work and at public charging sites. The higher voltage outlets are designed to significantly reduce charging times and are recommended by car manufacturers as the superior and safer alternative to mains socket charging.

While LED lighting isn’t strictly a legal requirement, a string of important government documents published over the past 20 years has increasingly tightened the performance criteria for lights used in public buildings. Lighting requirements are designed to phase out inefficient types of lighting rather than select positively for one alternative or another. It just happens that LED lights are currently the most affordable and energy efficient alternative to incandescent and fluorescent lighting.

LED lighting is a cost-effective, energy-saving alternative to conventional lighting options, even in historic and non-standard buildings. For universities, palaces, churches and museums, LED lighting offers enormous versatility to create different atmospheres in different parts of the building, shape user experiences and also cut the cost of lighting.

Upgrading an ageing and inefficient lighting infrastructure to a modern LED-based design is a large undertaking, especially in an extensive or complex building. When dealing with historic buildings in particular, there may be extensive electrical work required before the lighting upgrade can even take place, such as replacing antiquated wiring, or making special design considerations to preserve the character of the building. This comes with a price tag that can be quite high, so how do you justify an LED lighting upgrade in an organisation where budgets are tight?

Lowe and Oliver are pleased to bring you another service from our sister company Canopus with the impending GDPR applying from May 2018. Canopus Solutions Limited are industry specialists in the area of secure data destruction and IT asset disposal. Our range of services have been developed in response to the increasing importance of data protection legislation, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive, UK (England & Wales) waste legislation, and the hazardous waste act, all of which make businesses responsible for the ethical disposal of used IT equipment. As part of J Brand, with a business philosophy based around “My Customer, My Responsibility” many clients see Canopus Solutions as a key “strategic partner” with a determination to deliver solutions on time, within budget and to a first class standard.

While there are many LED lighting contractors more than happy to take your money, there are probably only a few with the experience and industry knowledge suitable to take on your project. All too often, organisations make common mistakes when choosing their contractor, resulting in communication issues, delays or a mismatch of skills.

With Dieselgate and concerns about the emissions of Diesel and Petrol cars there is a definite shift towards electric or Hybrid vehicles in the public perception and also in local and central governments. With ‘clean zones’ being planned that totally or partially ban Diesel cars from town centres such as London, Southampton and Oxford to name a few coming into force in the near future is it time to switch to and Electric or Hybrid Vehicle?

It’s a sad fact that of the millions spent on advanced building services very little is spent on maintaining them at their peak performance.

Most people drive a car nowadays and put it in for a service when so why don’t we maintain our boilers, AC units Fire Alarms and systems when we know that our car will only keep working if we maintain it?

We are proud to announce that our electrical contracts manager Tony Rickard will be doing a charity ride for the Saints Foundation 2018 Big Bike Challenge!