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No really, it is!
And not by just a little bit either sometimes it is 50% more expensive to look bad!
Now I know what you’re thinking “who in their right mind would pay 50% more to look bad?” The answer is – just about every business owner who chooses not to upgrade their lighting to LED!
Ok, so maybe not all of those businesses look “bad” per se, but the truth is that they are spending more money to keep their traditional lighting operating and it is also true that LED lighting can actually make spaces, merchandise, and food look better. So by that reasoning, it is easy to conclude that spending less could, in theory, make your business look better!
So how does spending less make a business look better?
Most traditional lighting in a commercial environment is fluorescent. Fluorescent lighting has a lower color rendering index as well as a higher energy consumption rates. The lower color rendering index, or CRI, makes your business look green, or off color. The higher energy consumption, of course, causes higher electric bills. Additionally, traditional fluorescent lighting requires ballasts to control the electricity in the tubes—this creates a flickering effect that is fatiguing, and gives everything lit by the fluorescent lighting a dusty or dirty look. Also, traditional fluorescent dims over a shorter period of time when compared to LED. When you add it all up, it leads to poorer lighting conditions for your business at a higher cost!
Conversely, LED has a higher CRI which means colors are richer and truer. Add to that a higher lumen per watt output and you get a brighter space using less electricity—which results in a lower electric bill. The conclusion then is that it costs less in the long run to look better!
Now, you may be thinking, “Oh sure, in the long run, it’s cheaper, but I don’t have the money to just go out and change all my lighting to LED!” Well, guess what? You don’t need a lot of money to get your lighting changed out to LED! In fact, in some cases, you don’t need any money at all! Thanks to models like Lighting As A Service, (LaaS), it is possible that your entire project could be funded with your utility bill savings over a period of time. In this model, the money for the project is fronted by a third party or by the lighting contractor themselves, and the business owner uses a percentage of the utility savings to pay back the debt. The LaaS model allows businesses to take advantage of the benefits of LED lighting without cutting into their capital budgets or draining their cash accounts.
(CLICK HERE to watch a video profile of an LaaS project)
Add to this the plethora of rebates in the marketplace from utility providers to encourage business owners to take advantage of LED and the question stops being “How can I afford to do this?” and instead becomes “how can I afford not to do this?”
So where do You Start?
Upgrading your lighting isn’t some voodoo magic process that can’t be understood. It’s really pretty easy and can be broken down into three basic steps.
Step 1-Evaluate Your Current Lighting
It seems pretty simple, but it’s worth mentioning—you have to know what kind of lighting you currently have before you can figure out what type of lighting saves you money!! This discovery is accomplished through an audit of your existing lighting. That audit information is then taken and compared to current lighting products available on the market to help develop a solution, which is the second step.
Step 2-Develop a Solution
Once the audit is complete, a solution is developed that includes figuring out the exact LED product to use, how to install that product, and how to pay for it. After all these questions, and a few other small ones, have been answered, the final step in the process is the delivery.
Step 3- Deliver the Solution
This step can go a couple of ways. For some small business owners it can be as simple as installing the new product themselves on a Saturday if it’s just lamps. However, most businesses will need a commercial electrician to install the solution. That’s where having a lighting company that can provide the audit, design, and installation is a big plus!! This is also the step where your lighting contractor should be able to help you capture any rebates or incentives and return those to you in the form of a check or credit towards the project.
It will cost you more to wait!
With some LED fixtures providing in upwards of 60% energy reduction over traditional lighting, the ROI on lighting projects has never been easier to realize. However, the only way to get that ROI is to stop paying more and to start saving more today! Customers who switch start seeing immediate energy consumption reductions on day 1 and those reductions add up quickly! So don’t wait—Stop paying more to look bad!
For more than 35 years, FSG has been helping businesses improve the quality of their lighting. With the advancements of LED, the future has never been brighter for business owners and FSG is dedicated to being there every step of the way!
So stop paying more for bad lighting! Instead, pay less for better lighting! You can start today. Click Here, and let us show you how you can look better and save money doing it!
