Lighting Tech Tip: Service Calls are an Opportunity to Talk About Comprehensive Lighting Retrofit Projects

The next time you’re on a service call to change out a customer’s lamps or ballasts, consider proposing an LED lighting retrofit project with advanced lighting controls. It’s the perfect time to talk with your customer about non-energy benefits of efficient lighting, like increased productivity, a better environment for inhabitants, increased safety and security, and reduced maintenance costs.

For example, LED fixtures with Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) can be a great solution for upgrading a commercial office space. They offer an updated look and multiple energy-saving features, such as occupancy control, daylight harvesting, high end trim, zoning and scheduling.

A final step toward “future proofing” office lighting is integrating Luminaire Level Lighting Controls (LLLC) in the upgrade project. LLLC systems are a subset of networked lighting controls featuring sensors embedded in every fixture. This allows ultimate granularity of control, along with the ability to group and regroup fixtures as needed. This is a key feature, particularly as the use of space changes over time. For example, many LLLC products would allow a building manager to quickly rezone an open office that was being sub-divided for multiple tenants with just a few clicks on their smart phone app. They could likewise quickly reset the high-end trim or even color temperature for the corner office whose new tenant prefers a softer/warmer look.

Because LEDs last up to four times as long as a standard T8 fluorescent lamp, they lower maintenance costs. Customers can save substantially on a range of calculated expenditures, such as the purchase price of new lamps, recycling costs for burned-out lamp disposal (fluorescent lamps contain mercury), and service call fees.

Choosing advanced controls can significantly extend the useful life of an LED upgrade project. All of the same control strategies that save energy also allow the LEDs to run cooler, extending the life of the electronic components in the driver, as well as the phosphor in the LEDs.

Advanced lighting controls offer so many great benefits to talk about. Use service calls to let your customers know more about the opportunities to improve their lighting technology with solutions that combine short paybacks and tons of non-energy benefits that put them in control.