The benefits of energy efficient lighting
If you switch to energy-efficient lighting, you’ll save money. Here’s how:
- Energy efficient lighting is cheaper to run
Switching to a LED light bulb that uses 80% less energy will cut the electricity bills from that light fitting by up to 80%.[1]
- You don’t have to buy light bulbs as often
A LED downlight can also last for up to 50,000 hours – this is 25 times longer than a halogen downlight which lasts for only 2,000 hours. This means that buying a single high-quality LED downlight can do away with the need to buy up to 24 halogen downlights. Halogen downlights can cost $5 each, so that’s up to $120 saved on purchase costs. - You use less electricity
Energy efficient lighting uses lower wattage to give out the same amount of light. This reduces the amount of electricity that’s needed. - Maintenance is cheaper
When an energy-efficient light lasts up to 50,000 hours, you significantly reduce the amount of times a maintenance person has to go up a ladder to replace your lighting. This saving is rarely taken into account when companies assess the financial case for switching to energy-efficient lighting.
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Check how much you pay someone to install new lighting. From this, you can work out your savings on maintenance replacement costs over the next 5–10 years. The savings can be considerable.
- It makes running your air conditioner cheaper
Energy efficient lighting can generate less heat, so they can reduce air-conditioning costs. - You might be able to get financial assistance to switch to energy-efficient lighting
Grants and assistance packages are sometimes available for companies who make the switch to energy efficient lighting. It’s worth finding out whether your business is eligible.
The Marriott Hotel, NSW
The Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel is a 5-star hotel complete with a total of 563 rooms, including 45 suites and 21 meeting rooms. Although it’s not a small business, their lighting changes show the money-saving potential of energy efficient lights.
Energy efficiency specialists, Easy Being Green replaced 9,975 conventional lights with energy efficient LEDs, saving the Marriott approximately $250,000 per year in energy costs. Over the 10-year lifespan of the new LED lighting system, the hotel will save $2.5 million at today’s energy prices.
Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel’s Director of Engineering, Cyrus Tolentino, said, “Thanks to the long-life LED lighting that was installed, we also reduced our labour and material costs as we now need to change blown bulbs less frequently. We estimate that this saves us an additional $130,000 per year over and above the energy savings.”
The reduction in energy use from their new lighting set-up generated ‘Energy Saving Certificates’ under the NSW ‘Energy Savings Scheme’. These certificates are worth money which Easy Being Green applied as an upfront discount reducing the Marriott Hotel’s capital expenditure.
To check if a lighting upgrade would benefit your business, visit EasyBeingGreen.com.au.[2]