As an owner or manager of a large commercial operation, you're always on the lookout for ways to save money. You have to keep those monthly overhead expenses in check, and a significant portion of those are presented by your energy use. Excess energy use will not only hit you in the pocketbook, but it can also affect your carbon footprint and give you a bad name from a PR point of view. As you search for ways to cut back, what's one of the best strategies to consider?

Shedding Light on the Problem

While electricity can often represent the largest single line item in your monthly expense budget, lighting by itself can often take the lion's share. There is only a certain amount you can do on a daily basis to keep these costs down, and you may be fed up with telling your employees to turn off switches when not in use. You're likely to have a much better end result if you consider a lighting retrofit.

When you undertake this as an active project, you'll be able to determine your exact needs and may be prompted to install a more efficient system as a consequence. You will need to bring in a commercial electrician and a lighting designer to ensure that you go about it the right way and maximise your potential for saving.

Are You Out Of Date?

If you haven't undertaken this project for some years, it's likely that the electrical systems in your buildings are not able to take advantage of the latest offers from utility companies. These special offers will frequently require your system to be dynamic and programmable. You'll want to get on board, however, as you may well be able to decrease the amount of electricity that you use.

Retrofit in Action

When the retrofit begins, a specific plan will be made for each building under your control. The expert will have a look at how many overhead lighting units you use and the type of bulbs within, and if necessary, they will recommend that they be replaced or reduced. The luminosity of the space will be checked to see if there are simply too many lamp units and ballasts for best efficiency.

State-of-the-art controls will be installed so that the lighting can be fully programmed. You'll also find out about your exterior signage and lighting and may learn that these are costing you much more than they should.

Getting Started

There are many different approaches and strategies to consider, based on the current configurations of your property. Have a word with a qualified commercial electrician as soon as possible to get your lighting retrofit underway.