If your business has expensive energy bills, a dark and eerie parking lot, or your current lampposts and lighting fixtures are corroding, it might be time to make the investment in a new commercial lighting system.
Depending on your industry, lighting can contribute anywhere from 20% to 50% of all electrical costs. As a result, changing outdated lighting systems can offer some of the biggest cost savings compared to other similarly priced endeavors. In fact, lighting is known to produce one of the highest return-on-investments in comparison to other major upgrades.
Here are some signs it’s time to start considering upgrading your current commercial lighting system.
#1. Your Customers Don’t Know Where To Park
If a dark parking lot with no sign of where to park greets your customers, it’s time to upgrade your lighting system. A dark parking lot is uninviting, confusing and even frightening. As a result, you’re continually taking the chance people simply turn around and go elsewhere.
#2. Your Energy Bill Is Astronomical
If you’re paying a lot of money in energy every month, the problem may have something to do with lighting. As mentioned above, lighting generally accounts for 20% to 50% of total energy costs. You can get an actual breakdown of costs by analyzing your electricity bill. If lighting is eating up a lot of energy there are cost-effective alternatives. For one, switching to LED lighting provides considerable energy savings. Plus, LED bulbs last longer and don’t need to be switched out as frequently, saving you money once again.
There are different types of lighting fixtures from compact fluorescent lamps to halogen systems.
Brought to us by Thomas Edison in 1879, incandescent lighting technology hogs the most energy and is the oldest form of commercialized electric lighting.
Halogen lamps are a more advanced form of incandescent lights. They are often used to help make merchandise or architectural elements stand out because of their bright white light.
Fluorescent lighting is as much as 4 times more efficient than incandescent lighting. Yet, there are older fluorescent systems that are riddled with issues such as flickering light and overall poor quality light. Newer fluorescent systems tend to be better in overall quality and energy efficiency.
Wherever applicable, LED lighting is the best bet in terms of long lasting, quality light with unsurpassed energy efficiency.
#3. Your Lights Are Running All Day/Night Long, Even When No One Is Using Them
If your lights are turned on at all hours of the day and/or night it begs the question: Is anyone really using that light or is it going to waste? Perhaps employees forget to turn lights off when they leave for the night, or you leave all lights on just in case someone needs to work late. By adding sensors to your lighting system you ensure that lights are always on when needed, but never on when not needed.
-Occupancy sensors automatically turn on when people are in the area and turn off when no one is in the area.
-Dimmers allow you to control how bright or dim you want lights to be at a given time. You can dim lights when only a little bit of artificial light is needed to help reduce electricity usage.
-Bi-level switches allow you to turn off an entire group of lighting fixtures with one switch.
#4. Important Parts Of Your Business Are Not Standing Out
Take a look at your business from an outside perspective. Does your sign/company name stand out? What about the parking lot or entryway? Lighting fixtures are used to keep people safe while navigating in the dark but they are also used to highlight important elements of your business. Anything from your company sign to an extremely beautiful flowerbed can remain prominent after nightfall with high quality lighting systems.
#5. Your Lampposts Are Breaking Down
If your lampposts are showing signs of rust and deterioration it might be time to replace them with lampposts that do not break down, rust or corrode. Most materials used to make light posts are not made to endure all of the harsh elements out there. As a result, it’s very common for lampposts to become damaged by high salinity, moisture, golf carts, sprinkler systems and weed whackers—just to name a few things. If the outer layer of the lamppost is damaged, moisture can easily infiltrate the pole and start causing damage from the inside out.
TerraCast lampposts are made differently in order to resist damage from moisture, high salinity and even impact damage caused by wild golf cart drivers. That’s why our lampposts outlive the competition by many years.
Shop our wide selection of long lasting lampposts here: https://www.terracastproducts.com/our-shop/lamp-posts/
If you notice just the bottom half of your lampposts are showing signs of damage, we offer replacement bases that allow you to get more time out of your fixtures. The bases easily snap on over the original pole, offering an affordable solution that works on most standard-sized light posts.
Shop our lamppost bases here: https://www.terracastproducts.com/bases/
#6. You Only Have One Type Of Lighting Fixture Throughout Landscaping
There are so many different types of lighting fixtures available. You can choose from in-ground lighting, tree ring lighting, lamppost lighting and so forth. Using a mixture of different lighting fixtures gives your property a nice glow, highlighting the most important elements while also decreasing the risk someone is injured or harmed on your property.
#7. You Haven’t Upgraded Your Lighting System In 10+ Years
If your lighting system is out of date by at a least a decade, it’s worth considering adding new lighting fixtures or systems to your commercial property. Countless changes have been made to the quality of light produced as well as the energy required to emit light. When properly planned and implemented, switching out lighting fixtures virtually pays for itself in savings.
The Long Lasting Commercial Lighting Solution
By switching to LED lights and TerraCast lighting fixtures, you won’t have to invest in your lighting system again for many years to come. Thanks to our specially formulated manufacturing process, we proudly produce the longest lasting lighting fixtures on the market. Plus, all of our products are made right here in the USA using sustainable methods and as many recycled materials as possible. Contact us today to learn more!