LED Retrofit Tips for Electricians

There’s no quicker way to save on electricity costs at a commercial or industrial building than springing for a total LED retrofit job. There are plenty of great reasons to switch to LED; they can use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescent lighting. They also last 25 times longer. That’s all according to  U.S. Department of Energy.

These benefits explain why the DOE estimates that LED lighting will claim 84 percent of the general illumination market in the U.S. by 2030. That’s a lot of retrofit jobs.

With the growing popularity of going all-LED, shaving time off of each installation can add up to significant savings for the electrical outfits who do the work. No matter how experienced your team may be, there are always ways to improve ergonomics during an LED retrofit — and better ergonomics mean faster, safer jobs.

Here are a few innovations to implement on your next LED retrofit job:

• Identify the client’s lighting goals.

  You might not need to replace every single lamp. A thorough lighting audit at the outset of a project can save considerable time — and expense — when it’s time to actually replace the fixtures. Reducing the labor requirement is also a key ergonomic benefit; the less time electricians spend with their arms in the air, the less risk of muscle strains.

• Work within the client’s deferred maintenance plan.

  The nice thing about an LED retrofit is that you can go fixture by fixture. With clients who don’t want to make the upfront investment, completing the retrofit in multiple visits can help to win the business. It won’t speed up the job overall, but it can secure clients where other sales tactics fail. Again, spreading the work out will reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in your workforce.

• Keep retrofit kits or complete LED lamps close to the installation site.

  This can be a challenge. After all, the install site keeps moving from fixture to fixture. You need a cart that can travel with the electrician, loaded with fully unpacked, easy-to-access LED fixtures. Light Fixture Carts from BHS are designed specifically for standard 2x2 or 2x4 troffers, and are compatible with most LED retrofit units.

As of a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, LED market penetration is expected to grow to 86 percent as a share of industrial luminaires by 2035. Electrical firms that can deliver the highest value will be the ones who claim the bulk of the LED retrofit jobs — which makes it well worth your while to develop a reliable, efficient process for the task.

References:

“Caliper Snapshot Industrial Luminaires.” Energy. U.S. Department of Energy, 13 Mar. 2017. Web. 4 Feb. 2019.

DiLouie, Craig. “The LED Revolution Carries On.” ECMag. Electrical Contractor Magazine, Oct. 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2019.

“LED Lighting.” Energy. U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2019.

“LED Lighting Forecast.” Energy. U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2019.