Halesowen College switches on to £36,000 saving with new smart lighting solution thanks to 'a match made in Black Country heaven'

The college, which was faced with rising energy prices and a significant net zero challenge, was introduced to Wolverhampton-based Your Digital Hub in October last year through the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, an introduction that has helped to transform the way it efficiently lights three of its buildings at its Whittingham Road campus.

Led by local entrepreneur Tim Hubbard, Your Digital Hub (YDH) used its expertise in cutting costs for businesses and organisations to review the college’s pain points, immediately spotting an opportunity to bring in one of its trusted ‘technology’ partners, Uni Smart Solutions, to provide its ground-breaking ‘Eco Pulse Smart Lighting’.

Tim, who previously held a senior role at Altodigital for over 30 years, said: “This is a real match made in Black Country heaven.

“Halesowen College had concerns with the cost of lighting across its estate and wanted an alternative solution that could save them money, as well as helping it become more sustainable.”

“We used our ‘no fee’ review of their existing contracts and tech and knew straight away we could offer something it hadn’t considered before. Using Eco Pulse’s smart lighting platform would deliver a seamless transition from fragmented legacy systems to a unified, intelligent estate that is data driven.”

Uni Smart provided Halesowen College with a full lighting audit, using its Smart Building Managed Service solution to install, commission and uniquely manage the 'internet of things' (IoT)-based solution in three of its blocks. This included the fit-out of 1,250 smart lights, 332 sensors and 380 self-testing emergency lights.

An optimisation programme was deployed to maximise energy savings, and in just four months there has been an 83 per cent reduction validated by Uni Smart’s monthly energy usage reports.

With an increasing drop as part of the service, a monthly net saving of between £2,000 and £3,000 will be realised - all paid for with a simple monthly payment model that removes the need for major capital expenditure.

Jacquie Carman, CEO of Halesowen College, said: “YDH and Uni Smart’s package hasn’t just delivered savings - it’s allowed us to upgrade our lighting systems without the need for capex and go truly smart with a clear business case-led approach.

“This has been a really productive partnership for Halesowen College, not only improving lighting for our students and staff, but also for helping us achieve our sustainability targets.”

Your Digital Hub, which is backed by entrepreneur Paul Morris MBE and Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Steve Bull MBE, is now turning its attention to offering more Black Country Chamber members the chance to streamline their workplace technology contracts.

Experts will provide a free review and consultation to ensure all tech contracts are working effectively and, if not, will use its 11-strong network of trusted partners to offer alternative solutions that promise to save costs and improve operational performance.

This service covers managed print, mobile and VoIP, smart building technology, energy, digital displays and, in light of recent high-profile attacks, cyber security.

Sarah Moorhouse, CEO of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: “One of our key roles is to bring local businesses and organisations together to help accelerate growth and this partnership between YDH and Halesowen College is a real success story.

“We don’t want it to stop there. Tim and his team have saved companies, organisations and charities nearly £4 million in their first 20 months – that’s really impressive. We’re now urging other members to come forward and explore whether this service can make a real difference to them.”