The London Borough of Waltham Forest has worked with Acrospire to deliver a borough-wide LED retrofit programme, upgrading around 500 lanterns using a bespoke retrofit kit. By retaining existing luminaires and replacing internal components, the scheme reduces energy consumption, minimises disruption, and preserves the visual character of residential streets.
“We were looking to move to LED to improve efficiency but struggled to find a modern luminaire that matched the look and feel of what we already had,” explains Leo Cole, Street Lighting & Responsive Maintenance Manager, Engineer at the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
“We didn’t want to replace these lanterns with standard fittings. They’ve become part of the character of the area. The shape and design are distinctive, and that was something we were keen to retain.”
Many of the borough’s lanterns feature a curved, architectural form that sets them apart from more typical ‘shoebox’ style luminaires. While visually well suited to their surroundings, internally they relied on older lighting technology with higher energy consumption and increasing maintenance requirements.
Supported by funding from the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF), the Council explored how these assets could be upgraded without full replacement, reducing cost, disruption and material waste.
With a focus on improving efficiency while preserving the visual identity of residential streets, the project developed into a borough-wide retrofit programme.
The London Borough of Waltham Forest’s term contractor, JB Riney, managed the planning, programming and installation of Acrospire’s bespoke LED retrofit solution, enabling the internal components of each lantern to be upgraded while retaining the original housing.
Across the scheme, over 500 lanterns are being retrofitted, delivering a circuit wattage reduction of around 45% compared to the previous installation.
Installation was carried out in situ, with each retrofit taking approximately five minutes per lantern, enabling efficient delivery with minimal disruption to residents. The luminaires were specified at 3000K, providing a warmer light output in line with the Council’s preferences for residential areas.
(Picture: Acrospire)
