Do You Need An Outdoor Lighting Retrofit?

It may be time to examine your current outdoor lighting levels, recent energy bills, existing maintenance costs, and available rebates.

Outdoor lighting retrofits are a good way to make a big impact on productivity, employees, aesthetics, and the bottom line.

How do you know if you need one? Ask yourself these four questions.

1. How are existing outdoor lighting levels?

One way to determine whether you need an outdoor lighting retrofit is to assess current lighting levels. The lights should be bright enough to create a welcoming environment, deter vandalism, and boost safety. Adequate outdoor lighting also helps increase employee morale. (Who wants to deal with trying to leave work in the dark?!)

2. How are your energy expenses?

An outdoor lighting retrofit can reduce monthly energy bills, freeing up operating costs. If the retrofit will pay for itself within a few years with these savings, then an upgrade is a smart investment

3. Are rebates or other funds available?

Depending on your location and the fixtures you choose, many utilities offer rebates for large portions of outdoor lighting retrofits: parking lot lighting, exterior building lighting (floodlights, wall packs, etc.), and pole lighting. To learn about rebates in your area, contact your utility provider or a Van Meter Lighting Specialist.

4. How much time are you spending on maintenance?

In a perfect world, your fixtures won’t require much hands-on attention. Age plays a factor in maintenance requirements; older systems lead to failure, frequent lamp and ballast changeouts, and larger investments to keep the lighting system operational. A new lighting system could also free up time so your maintenance team can focus on other priorities.

Your Outdoor Lighting Retrofit: A Step-by-Step Process

You’ll follow a simple, three-step process for starting your outdoor lighting retrofit with Van Meter:

1. A site audit that involves inventory of existing fixtures, fixture locations, and lighting levels.
2. Creation of a lighting design with proposed changes, comparing your current system to lighting best practices for your application (school, dealership, employee parking lot, etc.)
3. Calculation of estimated payback and expected energy savings based on the proposed design and available rebates.

In addition to our team of lighting specialists, Van Meter also has a strong project management group to oversee your project from the moment your order is placed until the material is on-site and installed. We can also help you find information about the utility rebates in your area.

We have outdoor lighting solutions for almost any budget, so don’t hesitate to contact us. I’m here to answer your lighting questions. Contact me today at 800-247-1410 to discuss your outdoor lighting retrofit project.

 Solution Spotlight (PDF)