LED Lighting for Commercial Buildings

Are you looking to increase the safety, security, curb appeal, reliability and efficiency of your retail space or facility without increasing long term costs? Upgrading your current fluorescent or HID lighting to LED will accomplish this.

Replacing your existing fluorescent and HID lighting with efficient LED fixtures will have the following impact on your operating costs:

Less Energy Consumption:

A typical parking lot is lit by an array of 250 watt metal halide area lights. These fixtures can be replaced with similar or identical LED fixtures, burning only 87 watts each with the same light output! This is an energy savings of at least 65 percent! Inside, a typical commercial space is lit by a grid of 2x4 fluorescent troffer lights, burning approximately 128 watts each. These fixtures can be replaced with similar, often more visually appealing LED troffer lights burning a scant 32 or 40 watts each. Replacing your old fluorescent troffers can yield over a 68 percent savings in lighting costs for your retail or office space! This energy savings can be boosted to approximately 84 percent with the installation of optional occupancy sensors!

Energy Saving Estimates

Lower Maintenance Costs:

Traditional fluorescent and HID lighting requires a large amount of maintenance. Bulbs and ballasts must be replaced regularly as they work through their comparatively short lifecycles. Not only do the bulbs and ballasts burn out, but sockets and lenses also wear out with frequent replacement. All of these items add up. Maintenance personnel must be kept on staff or on retainer, and this cost must be added into the overhead calculations for the facility. The significantly longer lifecycle of LED lighting yields a significant savings in maintenance costs. Over a ten year period, LED lighting can cut maintenance costs by up to 86 percent. The budget for lighting maintenance is different for every facility. Next time you are in the accounting office, find out what the maintenance budget is for the existing lighting at your facility. Imagine what else you can invest in when your budget for repairing lights is 15% of its current level.

Intangible Benefits:

Hard costs such as energy consumption and maintenance are easy to analyze in terms of percentages and dollar amounts. However, intangible benefits are difficult to calculate but make a very real impact on revenue. One intangible benefit is increased sales. A brighter store can attract more customers. A brighter office environment can boost productivity of employees. A brighter warehouse can decrease accidents. A brighter parking lot can increase safety and security. While LED lights are not necessarily brighter than the outgoing HID and fluorescent lights, they do offer more consistent operation with less breakage over the long run. Dead lights do not illuminate merchandise or provide security while they are awaiting repair. The “intangible” benefits of LED lighting can become quite real when considered carefully.

There are many excellent reasons to upgrade the lighting at your facility to LED. LED lighting is cost effective to purchase and power, easy to maintain, and makes your facility brighter, safer, and more attractive. Root Electric has been installing and maintaining commercial and industrial lighting in the Northern Virginia area since 1986. Contact us today for expert advice and a free estimate.