What Does a Typical Lighting Retrofit Include?
With the recent advancements in lighting technology, you’ve undoubtedly heard or seen advertisements offering to retrofit your existing lamps or fixtures. Perhaps these ads have piqued your interest, but you’d like to know more about what this type of project entails. If so, keep reading to get a clearer understanding of what a lighting retrofit is and what it includes.
What is a Lighting Retrofit?
A lighting retrofit is the process of replacing parts and components in an existing lighting system with more efficient/better quality counterparts. For instance a warehouse owner may want to switch out old, yellow-tinted sodium lamps for brighter, whiter T8 fluorescent lamps. Or, a retrofit could be as simple as substituting incandescent bulbs to CFLs or LEDs. Basically, it’s a quick, convenient way to upgrade your current setup without having the much larger expense of swapping out everything and starting from scratch.
Why Retrofit?
There are many reasons people choose to retrofit their lighting. One of the main motivators is the potential money savings it offers. Not only can you save money on the installation (as compared to a complete overhaul), but because modern products are more efficient, you can also see a huge decrease in your energy consumption. Most retrofits consume 25 to 60 percent less energy than older systems. Also, lighting is a significant drain on electricity for most businesses, so even a slight increase in efficiency can have major positive effects on your bottom line.
Other reasons to retrofit:
- Comply with new energy standards
- Have superior quality light
- Boost worker productivity and quality control
- Lower maintenance
- Earn tax savings and rebates
- Environmentally friendly
- Safer and easier to operate
- Longer product life
What to Expect from a Lighting Retrofit?
While a lighting retrofit may sound good, you might be wondering what the project really means for your business? In other words, how disruptive is it to your operation? How long will it take? Is it complicated? To give you a more thorough idea of what happens, below is an explanation of our retrofit process:
Step 1: Analysis of your existing system
Every building is unique and every operation has different lighting needs. Therefore, it’s important for a retrofitter to visit your facility to see exactly what you’re working with and pinpoint areas for improvement. At Premier Lighting, we personally walk through your building, examine all your fixtures and controls, and find elements that are underperforming or wasting energy.
Step 2: Provide a detailed proposal
We wouldn’t suggest you give anyone the go-ahead to retrofit your lighting without first getting a detailed proposal (you never know what you’ll end up with). Our comprehensive proposals have recommendations for improvements, list all costs (including materials, installation, disposal, etc.), and explains the project’s payback time and future ROI.
Step 3: Installation
Once the walkthrough’s complete and the proposal is approved, it’s time to install your new and improved parts. Of course, every project is different, but some of the more common upgrades are:
- Incandescent replaced with Halogen, CFL, or LED
- T-12 Fluorescent replaced with T-8 Fluorescent or T-5 Fluorescent
- Halogen replaced with CFL or LED
- CFL replaced with LED
- HPS/Mercury/Metal Halide replaced with Fluorescent, Induction or LED
- High Bay Metal Halides/HPS replaced with High Bay Fluorescents or LED
Also, retrofit projects regularly include other improvements, such as dimmers, timers, occupancy sensors, and other energy-saving technologies.
The size of your facility as well as the complexity of the project will determine how long your retrofit will take. However, Premier Lighting works hard to ensure there is minimal downtime for your operation and can perform the installation during your business’ non-working hours.
Step 4: Cleanup and process rebate paperwork
After installation we clean up everything and leave the facility just as we found it (only better lit) and even recycle or properly dispose of your old fixtures. Many lights and parts contain hazardous materials, so it’s important these items are removed in an environmentally sound manner. We also help you save every penny possible by submitting the appropriate paperwork for any available rebates or grants.
Bottom Line
In short, most experienced, professional lighting companies, like Premier Lighting, are well experienced in retrofitting and have the process so streamlined that you don’t need to do much more than call them to get the job done quickly and easily. If you’re not sure if you could benefit from a retrofit, have a lighting specialist come out and analyze your existing system. You may be surprised by the number of lighting options currently available for every type of budget.