Industry Snapshot: Interior LED Lighting in 2025

Governments and organizations worldwide are actively encouraging energy-efficient lighting adoption through rebates, grants, and other incentives, helping offset upgrade costs for businesses. In the commercial sector, which represented nearly a third of the interior lighting market’s revenue in 2025, demand continues to grow, particularly for solutions that balance visual appeal with operational efficiency.

IoT-enabled smart lighting systems are reshaping the market, offering remote control, automation, and advanced energy management. This trend aligns with the push for sustainability, as LEDs are already one of the most environmentally friendly lighting options, free from toxic materials like mercury and capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, businesses should be aware of potential cybersecurity concerns with connected lighting networks.

Design preferences are also shifting, with ambient lighting remaining the dominant type, accounting for 38% of the market. Perimeter lighting and modern architectural effects are gaining popularity in high-end commercial projects, hospitality spaces, and retail environments.

Key Benefits at a Glance

• Up to 50,000 – hour lifespan, significantly reducing replacement frequency and maintenance costs
• Around 90% energy conversion efficiency, lowering energy bills and reducing carbon footprint
• Instant illumination with no warm-up time, improving safety and productivity
• Flexible design options, from high bays to sleek panels, to suit any commercial space
• Smart control capabilities for automation, dimming, scheduling, and color tuning
• Environmentally friendly – no mercury, reduce waste, and lower greenhouse gas emissions
• Minimal UV emissions, protecting sensitive materials like artwork and fabrics

Wattage

LEDs are a popular retrofit option due to their superior energy efficiency. The energy reduction achieved will depend on the type of lighting being replaced. For instance, fluorescent fixtures are often replaced at a 2.5:1 wattage ratio, while metal halide fixtures are typically replaced at a 3:1 ratio.

Traditional fluorescent and metal halide lamps use ballasts that increase wattage consumption. Using an online energy savings calculator can give you an accurate projection of post-upgrade efficiency. Knowing your wattage requirements during planning ensures you maximize savings without sacrificing light quality.

Lumens

Lumens measure the total amount of visible light emitted by a source, making them a key factor in determining how bright a space will feel. For interior lighting in a commercial property, lumens help facility managers match lighting levels to the needs of each area. Offices may require moderate, even illumination for productivity, while retail spaces often need higher lumen levels to showcase products effectively. LEDs can deliver almost double the amount of lumens that fluorescent or metal halide can at a lower wattage to help conserve energy. Choosing the right lumen output will vary depending on the environment to support functionality and comfort.

LED Lifespan

A major benefit of LEDs is longevity. While fluorescent lamps last around 20,000 hours and metal halide lamps about 10,000, LEDs often operate for up to 50,000 hours. In a typical office running lights 10 hours a day, five days a week, that’s close to 19 years of service.

Longer lifespans mean fewer replacements, lower maintenance costs, and reduced operational disruption, which is especially valuable for high-ceiling applications or hard-to-access fixtures.

Type of Fixture

Selecting the right fixture begins with technical requirements, then moves to aesthetics and design. Common commercial options include high bay fixtures for industrial spaces, recessed panels or troffers for offices, and linear LEDs for retail environments.

LED tubes can often be used in existing fluorescent fixtures, but large-scale upgrades may benefit from panel fixtures or modernized designs that improve both efficiency and appearance. Specialty options like UFO LED fixtures for high ceilings or corn cob LEDs for metal halide replacement give businesses flexibility in meeting both performance and design needs.

Plug and Play vs. Ballast Bypass

A plug-and-play retrofit uses the existing fixture, simply replacing the lamps with LED equivalents. While cost-effective upfront, this method retains the older, less-efficient ballast and may shorten LED lifespan.

A ballast bypass, or complete retrofit, requires more initial investment but delivers maximum energy savings, longer fixture life, and reduced maintenance costs.

Color Temperature

Color temperature, measured in Kelvin, plays a critical role in setting the tone of an interior space.

• 3000K (warm white) creates a relaxed, welcoming feel, ideal for restaurants and hospitality settings
• 4000K (neutral white) is common in offices and retail, balancing clarity and comfort
• 5000K (daylight) offers crisp, bright illumination, often chosen for healthcare and high-precision environments

Next Gen LED systems also allow for tunable white technology, enabling dynamic changes in color temperature throughout the day to improve productivity, comfort, and energy efficiency.

Interior LED Retrofits with Action Services Group

Interior LED upgrades are a popular decision for businesses in 2025. Facility managers will see a noticeable difference in lighting quality, lower utility bills and operational efficiency when retrofitting to LEDs. Through incentives available locally and federally, business owners will see a higher return on investment. 

Our team can guide you from planning to installation, ensuring your upgrade delivers maximum value. To get started, call 610-558-9773, email [email protected], or schedule a consultation today.