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LED lighting in a commercial building

Lighting is usually the shortest payback on the list, and the least interesting to talk about. In a warehouse still running old high bay fittings it is often the first thing to do.

What it is

Old fittings are replaced with LED units, normally with controls so that lights are off or dimmed where nobody is working and where daylight is doing the job already.

The saving comes from two places: each fitting draws less, and controls stop the ones that do not need to be on.

Does it suit you

It suits buildings still running legacy high intensity discharge or fluorescent fittings, and buildings lit for long hours such as warehouses, production areas and multi shift sites.

It suits you less if the building was relamped recently, or if lit hours are short.

What decides it
  • -What is fitted now, and how many hours it runs.
  • -Lit floor area, and the height of the space.
  • -Whether controls can be added, which is often where the difference between a modest and a good result sits.
  • -Access. Changing fittings at height in a live warehouse costs more than changing them in an empty one.
Cost and saving

The figures Meridians models with. Your building replaces them with its own data as soon as we have it.

Installed cost
from 7 to 20 per square metre
Derived from a published commercial retrofit worked example.
Reduction in lighting energy
40 to 70 per cent
Commercial LED retrofit against legacy discharge and fluorescent fittings, 2026 market data.
Lighting share of site energy
15 to 30 per cent
Commercial building energy use, 2026.
Observed payback
1.5 to 3.5 years
Commercial LED retrofit market data, 2026.

Cost leads with the low end. Payback leads with the longer one.

In the application

The card a client sees, rendered by the application itself.

Illustrative building, not a real siteThe measure card, as a client sees it
Energy efficient lighting
Sized from floor area: 2,400 m2 of warehouse and office
Savings
Provisional estimateThis is a provisional estimate based on typical costs, not on quotes for your building. The range is wide on purpose. A quote will tell you what it actually costs.
Modelled saving
£6,100 to £9,400 a year
Indicative cost
From £26,000, typically £33,000 to £41,000
Payback
3.4 years to 5.1 years
Plan against the longer end: Up to 5.1 years.

Modelled from the consumption figure you gave us, so an installer survey may land elsewhere in these ranges.

What goes wrong
  • -Fittings are swapped one for one without controls, so half the available saving is left behind.
  • -Lux levels are cut too far and the space becomes unpleasant or unsafe to work in.
  • -The quote covers supply only and access at height is billed separately.
Does it move a rating

Lighting is a modelled input to a non domestic EPC, so a retrofit can move a rating.

What the minimum standard requires

Related

See it on your buildings

Add your sites and their energy data, and you get a modelled range for this measure at each one rather than a market average.

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