As part of Quantum’s ongoing commitment to the environment, we have completed an extensive energy audit, resulting in significant reductions in our energy consumption and carbon footprint. 

Following a previous investment in 50kW of solar panels which cover the roof of our unit 4 building, attention turned to reduction in the additional energy which we consume from the grid.

As a result of the audit, two key projects have been completed so far this year.  The first has been a comprehensive switch to low energy LED lighting throughout the factory.  High light levels are essential to maintain quality in production, although we believed we could reduce energy usage without production compromise.  The project assessed the light levels required in different areas of production, and a proposal was tuned to minimum energy usage while maintaining ideal light levels in each production area.  By developing a proposal for optimum light levels at an individual operator level and lowering the light levels in non-critical areas of the factory, we identified an opportunity to reduce total energy required for lighting by 46%.  This has now been implemented and translates to a calculated carbon reduction of 13.1T/ year as well as improved lighting in critical areas.

The second project has been to maximise extraction in the trimming areas with minimum energy.  Subcontracting to a specialist company for optimised air flow design, the main trim area was restructured to maintain the same high level of dust extraction while reducing the two extractor motors from 11kW to 5.5kW – a real reduction of 50% energy consumption.   This equates to a further estimated carbon reduction of 8T/year.

Quantum remain committed to minimising our impact on the environment.  Reducing our energy consumption is just one of the many ways that we continue to investigate and implement environmental benefits as technologies and opportunities arise.