Lighting Tech Tip: LED Upgrades Continue to Lead the Way

Supply chain issues, worker shortages, rising costs – talk about a difficult business environment. Despite these challenges, utility lighting incentives continue to offer great options for agile trade allies, especially in the retrofit market where facility improvements require a quick return on your customer’s investment.

Lighting retrofits provide low-risk, high-profit opportunities with less competition than the open-bid market. They also feature numerous non-energy benefits that can improve your odds of completing a project sale. Among these benefits are increased safety, employee retention, and building integration.

Business operations have dramatically changed during the last couple of years and industries throughout the Pacific Northwest have altered facility layouts to accommodate. Does your project provide the right light level for employees to safely perform their tasks? Ensuring it does is essential for client satisfaction. When planning for new construction/major remodels, make sure that your project exceeds code by 20% so it qualifies for lighting incentives.

Retrofitting older lighting safety systems ensures performance when minutes matter. At a facility with HID metal halide, mercury vapor, or high-pressure sodium fixtures, it can take minutes for lighting systems to boot up after a power loss. LED lighting can resume instantly, improving safety and operational efficiency.

Even in facilities that have installed LED lighting, there are worthy retrofit opportunities if it has been more than five years. Modern LED fixtures have higher lumen per watt efficacy and offer virtually unlimited controllability. Networked lighting controls (NLC) and luminaire level lighting controls (LLLC) allow occupants to tune lighting to their unique requirements. Plus, new LED fixture optics improve visual comfort by reducing glare as compared to earlier product generations.

If you ever have any questions about a lighting project, contact your local Trade Ally Network NW field specialist. They can help you understand regional utility requirements, provide lighting calculator assistance, and explain local incentive details so you can focus on designing and selling lighting retrofits.