How to Get the Most Out of an LED Lighting Replacement Project
LED Outdoor Lighting Experts Shares Its Proficiency
Upgrading to LED lighting is a smart business move, given that the energy savings pay for the installation in a short time. Following are suggestions to maximize the benefits you receive from this project.
Which Ones First?
Because of the initial costs of installation, LED replacement fixtures are sometimes put in place incrementally. This allows the energy savings realized from the first round of installed fixtures to partially fund the next round. In deciding where to start, consider where you will realize the most savings. Lamps that are on most of the time will save more than lamps used occasionally. Lamps near the end of their life are also good candidates for early replacement, as are lamps in hard-to-reach places; the far longer life of LEDs makes them superior where every replacement is a major nuisance. If different types of lamp are in use, replace the most energy-hungry ones first.
Where Do You Want That?
This may also be a good time to evaluate current placement of lighting fixtures and see where you’d like to make changes. Consult your lighting specialist about how the quality of light will be different from what you have now, and keep in mind that outdoor LED landscape lighting tends to fill in shadows more effectively than older technologies do.
Smart LEDs
LEDs lend themselves famously to lighting controls, even in outdoor settings where ballasted lamps would take too long to turn on and off. At a signal from a motion sensor, an LED lamp will light up instantly. Thus even more energy savings can be realized where illumination is needed only when people are present. Indoors, LEDs can work with daylight sensors, dimming and brightening according to available daylight.
Apply for Utility Incentives and Assistance
Utility companies across the country promote energy savings, and that emphatically includes LED lighting projects. PG&E provides a wealth of information on its website, on PDFs, and by telephone; the utility’s Business Customer Service Center (800-468-4743) offers consultation on energy-saving lighting solutions and the rebates PG&E offers. Whether the application is a major LED roadway lighting project or a small office replacing its fluorescent bulbs with linear LED lighting, incentives, practical assistance, and zero-interest loans are available to ease the transition.
Government agencies qualify for utility incentives, too. The biggest investment and the greatest savings are in upgrading to municipal LED street lighting; PG&E offers rebates and a discounted rate schedule for such installations going back to 2009. Rebates for PG&E-approved fixtures on “streets, highways, and other outdoor ways and places” begin at $40 per luminaire up to 50 watts; at the high end are fixtures from 501-750 watts, with a rebate of $200 each. The discounted rate schedule applies for installation of LED fixtures regardless whether they are on the approved list. PG&E may be contracted to handle the installation for government customers who do not want to be bogged down in the process of hiring contractors.
Contact our Outdoor LED Landscape Lighting Team Today
We can discuss ways in which you can upgrade to LED lighting in California and Nevada. Give us a call today at (925) 240-1566 (California office) or (775) 333-0900 (Nevada office) to learn more about these energy and budget-saving options. You can also use our online contact form, and a Great Basin Lighting team member will contact you shortly.