Getting Started with Your Commercial LED Retrofit

Anyone who has started to look into the feasibility of a facility-wide LED retrofit can tell you, it’s not an easy process. While LED technology is incredibly simplistic in its operation and installation, there are so many different models and manufacturers that it can feel impossible to land on the right one.

Beyond the dizzying array product specifics, a well-executed retrofit also requires a top to bottom facility survey, and sometimes a full multi-year savings projection just to get the project off the ground.

Whether you’re located in central [city] or elsewhere in the country, executing your commercial or industrial LED retrofit begins with some good, old-fashioned education. Here are some of the things that you need to know before you can unlock all those energy savings:

Establish Your Energy Goals (Desired Output)

Switching to LED light bulbs in a commercial or industrial setting is lucrative on a number of levels. However, it’s good to go into big projects like these with some established desired outcomes.

Generally, when people install LED lighting, it is for one of the three following reasons:

• Energy Savings: Your desired output is to reduce total energy costs associated with the building or operation. An “energy reduction target” is helpful in reaching goals like these.
• Maintenance Savings: Your desired output is to increase the lifespan of your bulbs and fixtures. To achieve this, it’s necessary to know everything about your current system, as well as the details of the specific bulbs and fixtures you are going with.
• Lighting Performance: Your desired output is to increase the quality of illumination in your workplace, whether it’s overhead warehouse lighting, track lighting, or motion-controlled outdoor safety lighting.

The good news? A well-planned commercial LED retrofit can accomplish all three goals at the same time. But in order to maximize the desired output, it is necessary to do some thoughtful research before you begin.

Know Your Facility

A full walkthrough of your facility will be necessary, no matter how small or large the area is. Things to pay attention to are total energy requirements, existing lighting components, hours of operation, and current annual maintenance costs. If you have all of this information, it will be possible to arrive at an estimate of just how much money you will be saving off your energy bill every month.

That makes it a lot easier to pitch to the bank, we can assure you of that.

Research Your LED Rebates and Renewable Energy Incentives

When you install an LED lighting system, what you are getting ends up being more than the sum of its parts. This is because clean technology like LED lighting is supported around the world by financial incentives and rebates that can drastically affect your Return on Investment.

Of course, not all of these rebates are automatic. Before you begin your retrofit, reach out to your utility program to determine if they have some form of LED lighting rebate or renewable energy incentive. These days, almost all of them do.

Most of these programs have strict eligibility requirements, which are good to know before you begin your application. Within [city] and the surrounding area, there are a number of valuable incentives available for commercial businesses.

Make the Switch & Start Saving

Once you’ve done your homework, you can get started with your industrial LED retrofit. The energy savings are immediate after installation is complete, and you should start to notice the maintenance reductions after only a few months.