If you are thinking about a commercial office lighting upgrade, chances are you want to replace your fluorescent tubes with energy-efficient LEDs. Whether it’s getting harder to find replacement bulbs, your business is focusing more on sustainability, or you want to reduce energy costs, a lighting retrofit will benefit your building and employees.

Here’s a starting checklist to help you meet your lighting upgrade goals.

1. Establish Your Project Guidelines

A lighting upgrade is like any other major project, you need guidelines to stay on track and accomplish your goals.

Some questions to answer include,

• What are your main project goals?
• What is your budget?
• Will you need to meet energy or building codes?
• Is one area in the building a higher priority than others?

Once you have a general guideline, you can fine-tune the minor details.

2. Look for High Burn Areas

High-burn areas are places in the building where the lights are left on for several hours at a time.

Parking garages, basements, and stairwells are common examples of high-burn areas. These are the places you want to start in your lighting upgrade. From there, you can move on to other areas like common rooms, lobbies, and workspaces. These areas typically only leave the lights on during the day.

As you are locating your high-burn areas, think about which bulbs use the most energy. Our lighting pyramid can help. The most energy-efficient bulbs are at the top of the pyramid.

Your focus will probably be on replacing fluorescent bulbs with LEDs. We can help you find the best places to install linear LEDs in your commercial building.

3. Focus on Hard-to-Maintain Light Fixtures

After locating your high-burn areas, we recommend focusing on hard-to-maintain light fixtures.

These are the fixtures requiring special equipment to change out a bulb or are in areas that disrupt workflow.

Focusing on these areas often improves safety and employee productivity, which should be included at the top of your list of lighting upgrade goals.

Not sure if concentrating on these areas is worth the expense? Consider the maintenance savings you will get with an LED lighting retrofit.

4. Consider Installing Lighting Controls

Lighting controls help conserve additional energy and lower your overall electrical bills. The controls are a good option in commercial buildings since most have spaces not always in use.

These areas can include meeting rooms, break rooms, bathrooms, and even offices where you do not need to leave the lights on all day. Some states are also requiring commercial businesses to use lighting controls to reduce energy consumption.

You can install simple or complex lighting controls. Some are even wireless, giving you more flexibility. You do not need to rewire the building’s entire electrical system, and some even have smart technology. Using wireless signals, the controls can communicate with the system.

According to Phillips, you can save up to 55% more energy by using lighting controls.

Benefits of a Commercial Office Lighting Upgrade

Energy savings is a primary benefit you get with an LED upgrade, but it’s not the only one.

• You can reduce overall operating costs. Incandescent and halogen bulbs produce a lot of heat. Switching to LEDs may give your HVAC system a break.
• Reducing maintenance. LEDs do not require replacement as often as traditional light bulbs. Along with minimizing workplace disruptions, your staff can concentrate on other tasks besides changing out the light bulbs.
• Attract new clients with energy-saving LED lights. Clients are focusing more on sustainability. By switching to LEDs and lighting controls you can show you are concerned about the environment.

Commercial Office Lighting Upgrade with Action Services Group

If you are ready to start your commercial office lighting upgrade or have questions, contact us today to learn how we can help you meet your project goals. Call 610-558-9773, email [email protected], or schedule a call that fits your needs by clicking the button below!