Office Lighting Rebates: Use It Or Lose It

Most companies know they save money by going green, but many may miss their opportunity by dragging their feet. Current regulations soon will ban manufacturing replacement T12 lighting systems. When these regs take effect, utilities will stop offering lighting rebates to encourage upgrades. According to the Energy Efficient Lighting Calculator, typical businesses waste $560 a year to old lights. The switch is inevitable. By delaying, businesses are simply spending more on wasted energy and potentially missing out on a huge rebate opportunity.

More Carrot, Less Stick

Federal regulations like Energy Policy Act of 2005 that prohibit the manufacture of T12 fluorescent lighting systems are coming into effect right now, with additional regulations being implemented within this year. When current office lighting burns out, businesses will be forced to upgrade because replacements are gone.

As the Greenzu Lighting Calculator shows, the rebates have a big impact on the payback period of a lighting retrofit. However, the rebates will not last long after the regs take effect because utilities will have no need to incentivize the upgrade. There will be no alternative.

Green Light Means “Go”!

The ironic part is businesses think they are avoiding a cost by delaying the retrofit. In reality, they are spending hundreds to thousands a year in wasted energy to simply delay the inevitable. For example, below are the costs and savings the average business will see by converting T12 bulbs to T8 bulbs:

• Saving: $260 a year
• Costs (Installed): $673
• Costs (after rebates): $546
• Payback Period: 1.19 years

_{Source: Greenzu Energy Efficient Lighting Calculator}

As these results show, not only would the lighting retrofit lead to a savings of almost $300 a year. Switching now would allow your business to take advantage of incentives that would save you almost an additional $100! Furthermore, the whole retrofit project would be paid off in a little over a year, which may be even faster than the completed implementation of the recent federal regulations. How’s that for being ahead of the curve?