HID Area-Pole lights retrofit to LED

Shoe Box-Pole Lights, Wall Packs, Flood Lights, Canopy Lights, High-Low Bay and Area Lights.

Older HID bulbs commonly found in area lights are some of the most energy hungry bulbs still being used today. These bulbs include Metal Halide, Mercury Vapor and High Pressure Sodium Vapor. Sodium Vapor are the bulbs that have a yellowish color light that is hard to see with, however these bulbs were made to last longer that the typical Medal Halide. All HID bulbs are power hungry and their Lum (light output) decreases rather quickly. Lifespan is short and maintenance is high. Because of the high energy demands of these bulbs, HID bulbs/Fixtures provide a quick cost effective ROI and even better is a high rebate amount from the utility company. Most HID bulbs/Fixtures have a run time from sunset to sunrise. Benefits to replacing older HID fixtures to LED include five year plus lifespan, lower operating cost, high rebate amounts, cleaner light for safety and much better CRI ( viewable colors) just to name a few.

Interior Lighting Retrofit to LED

There are so many benefits to changing interior lighting to LED. Benefits include a better working environment, higher CRI that make products stand out, lower cost of operation and energy savings. Interior LED retrofits can be simple bulb replacements for can lights, sconces and track lights to complete fixture replacement. Having a lighting audit will provide a clear path to what solutions works best for you. Maybe you have 2×4 troffers with 4 lamp T12 bulbs, a simple cost effective solution might be a simple ballast removal, and installation of 2x 17w LED bulbs. In this case the existing fixture, given its in good condition, can be reused and retrofitted. In other cases you’re better of going with a new fixture all together.

Lighting Audit

A lighting audit is the first step to creating a LED lighting upgrade plan. A lighting audit will be used to collect information about the business such as days and hours of operation, type of lights currently being used, any issues with current lighting and goals for new LED lighting plan. During the audit, all existing types of fixtures and counts will be recorded and used to plan out a new LED lighting plan. Additionally, the information recorded from the audit will be needed to calculate any rebates and ROI.

Rebates and ROI

Did you know you can get rebate money from your utility company for a LED retrofit? Why? Because its cheaper for a utility company to offer rebates to companies reducing energy usage by upgrading to LED that it is for new power plants and infrastructure to be built. Does every business qualify? The answer is although most companies will qualify for one of the programs available, there are some businesses that don’t pay into the program. If you’re not sure if you qualify, we can check for you.

PNM offers many rebate programs, the main programs are the Trade Ally Remodel Program, the Retrofit Program and the Quick Saver for businesses under 200KW. Each program has it’s own set of guidelines and yearly budget for awarding rebates. You can check PNM’s web site for more information or contact us and we’ll be more than happy to let you know what program you qualify for and the guidelines for that program. Our retrofit team will help guide you and answer all your questions. You should be aware that funding can run out towards the end of the year and sometimes there are special promotions that offer even more incentives for a limited time.

Return on investment is an important piece of information to determine how long it will take for a project to pay for itself. ROI’s with less than 3 years is average with PNM, however we’ve seen many ROI’s with less than a year and in some cases even as low as a month or two. Projects with quick ROI’s are outside HID’s ( 12hr burn) 24hr businesses, businesses with older T12 tubes with magnetic ballast, and high wattage fixtures to name a few. By providing a lighting audit, working with PNM rebates, a clear ROI will be provided.

LED Retrofit done right.

These are the preferred ways of doing a retrofit the right way.

1. Remove old ballast almost always. It’s not a good idea to use bulbs/tubes that use existing ballast. Existing ballast will fail and are a continued maintenance issue.
2. In the Long run its always better to replace outside fixtures with new LED fixtures instead of doing a retrofit kit. Pricing has come down on LED fixtures and there’s minimum cost difference between a retrofit and a new fixture. However retrofit fixtures still utilize older parts that will fail at some time.
3. Use high LED fixtures that have a high lum per watt efficiency. The goal is to use a much lower wattage LED that provides the needed light output for the area.
4. Only use quality products from well known manufactures who stand behind their products.
5. Pick the right product for the application. For instance, linear High Bay fixtures work best for warehouses that have rows of racks for product. Round High Bay’s work great for open warehouses.
6. Only use electricians that are licensed, insured and bonded.

How can Caldwell Electrical assist?

For over 42 years, Caldwell has been helping customers like you with all electrical needs to include LED Lighting retrofits.

Caldwell is a Trade Partner with PNM, we have gone through all training and certification to be part of the program. Our team is highly qualified to provide Energy Audits, Rebate info, ROI and professional installation of new LED lighting for your facility. With over 42 years in the business we will be here for you today and tomorrow. Our Electricians are Licensed in the state of New Mexico and Texas. Caldwell has partnered with some of the best LED suppliers to make sure the product will last, has a great warranty and works as promised. We make the whole process as simple as possible for you.

Contact us today for a Free Audit and ROI report in a timely manner.