As you’re looking at creative solutions to help lower your business expenses and increase your profits, LED lighting retrofits are a great option to consider. But don’t settle for just any option, because not all lighting retrofits are created equal. The savings you may realize in your lighting retrofit can be quickly lost if the wrong lights are used or when every part of the retrofit is considered carefully. One area to consider is testing the system to verify that it will work effectively and meet all your business’ needs.
How is a LED lighting retrofit tested?
Once your system is designed, it’s important to test how well it will work before agreeing to start work on the project. By testing with a variety of instruments, you know ahead of time if there need to be adjustments made to the design and can plan accordingly. Light meters, a tool used in photography to measure the quality of the reflected light, are used in lighting retrofit tests to ensure you’ll have the same measurements in a test setup as you do in your workspace, helping control glare and the total amount of light in the environment. By comparison, a photocell records how much light is directly received from the lights. Watt meters tests how much energy is being put into your light system, taking into account issues such as line loss of power, to ensure you’re receiving the energy savings you expect. These test results can be compared to your past electric bills to give you a far better idea of the kind of savings you can expect in the future performance of the system. A thorough test gives you all the details you need to make an informed decision.
What can be missed in a basic test?
If you’re not having a thorough test completed of your prospective lighting retrofit, you’re probably leaving money on the table. If the system doesn’t perform as well as advertised, you’ll be paying more money than expected to the electric company. If it doesn’t provide proper lighting, you’ll need to have additional changes made, causing you to lose the money you saved by having a retrofit performed. By only testing part of the system, a retrofit company is saving their overhead – the expense of the additional testing.
How can the tests be used to ensure your retrofit meets your needs?
By testing all the possible facets of your prospective LED lighting retrofit system, you can ensure that the system will meet your needs or can make necessary changes to the system prior to installation, when it will be less expensive and you can budget for it. If your wiring causes more line loss than expected to get power to your new lights, knowing about it ahead of times allows you to adjust your expectations or choose different options to your lighting retrofit. If the lights you’ve selected won’t deliver the amount of light you need, you can change it ahead of the installation.
By thoroughly testing your lighting retrofit, you can ensure that the system you decide to install will meet your needs and save you from having to repair or replace parts of the system that may not work. The best way to achieve all your lighting and energy efficiency goals is by having thorough testing done before you begin your retrofit. To have your prospective lighting retrofit tested thoroughly by Retro-Tech Industries, contact us today. We’re always happy to help make sure your lighting retrofit is a good fit for your business needs.