Takajärvi day-care, youth centre and school, Kemi

Old Defa Luminaires Received new LED units.

Customer Benefits in Replacing Mercury Lamps with Valopaa LED Units

  • The bodies of the old luminaires were used, no need for larger replacement work
  • Fast and easy installation – as simple as changing a lightbulb
  • Fast payback time, energy efficiency (50W--> 11W), low need for maintenance and long lifespan
  • Fast installation, reliable, long lifespan
The yard and outdoor area of Takajärvi day-care, school and youth centre in Kemi have long been lit by mercury Defa luminaires, which have been attached to walls and canopies. The city of Kemi renewed the lighting in 2012 – Valopaa LED units replaced the old mercury lamps.

Electrification manager of City of Kemi, Kari Pelo says that the city gradually replaces all mercury lamps with other solutions, due to EU directives, which prohibit manufacturing of mercury lamps after 2015.

´The good energy efficiency, low need for maintenance and long lifespan make LEDs an inviting replacement option for mercury lamps´, he states.

The present lighting renewal with LEDs in Takajärvi saves an estimated € 2000 in electricity each year. Valopaa delivered 90 LED units to Takajärvi. This was what is known as a retrofit solution – Valopaa had specifically designed the LED units to be installed within the bodies of the Defa luminaires, which are commonly used in Finland.

Pelo is really appreciative of the process: ´The solution that Valopaa came up with, which enables a straight installation of the LED into the luminaire, makes the installation really easy and fast.´

´Valopaa led units are extremely easy to install´


The thoughts of Pelo are shared by Tommi Tarvainen, who was in charge of the installation in Takajärvi on behalf of Arctic Sähkö.

“Valopaa led units are extremely easy to install. In this case, the most time consuming workphase was to remove the old components from the Defas. When that was done, the installation of the new LED unit took only a couple of minutes. They slipped right in´, he concludes.

According to Pelo, the LED luminaires in Takajärvi have been working without any problems whatsoever. The City of Kemi has also gathered other positive experiences from Valopaa luminaires. The school of Karihaara has enjoyed the lighting of Valopaa LED luminaires in a pilot project for longer than a year now.

Customer: City of Kemi
Project: Takajärvi day-care, school and youth centre
Luminaires: DEFA Neptune 001 with cross and half cover
LED units: VP9202 M1 V9C, 4100K, 11W
Contractor: Arctic Sähkö Ky