LED conversion – how much will I save?

Lighting constitutes an incredible 20% of worldwide energy consumption, so it likely also accounts for a large part of your business’s electricity costs – and with energy costs rising, most homes and businesses are looking for ways to make savings. While spending money investing in an LED conversion (switching your existing light bulbs to LED bulbs) may seem like you’re spending money unnecessarily, but you’ll end up making huge savings and doing better for the planet at the same time. Let’s take a look at the other advantages of converting to LED lighting.

Advantages of LED conversion

LED lighting products have been intensely developed over the past few decades, with lighting designers exploiting the flexibility they offer, and they’ve steadily decreased in price too. The lower cost and enhanced look of LED lighting solutions isn’t the only advantage that converting offers.

  • Energy-efficiency – LED technology is extremely energy efficient, using up to 90% less energy than incandescent lighting (including halogen styles that have now been banned) and 60% less than old fluorescent lighting.
  • Lifespan – LED light bulbs last up to 50 times longer than a traditional light bulb, so you spend far less time and money in maintenance and can reduce your stock of spare light bulbs.
  • Temperature – Because LED lighting projects little or no IR heat in its beam, converting to LED reduces fire risk and potentially, air conditioning costs too. LED spotlights can be useful for lighting heat-sensitive items such as works of art, or food.
  • Durability – LED lighting is resistant to shock and vibration and performs reliably at cold temperatures (typically down to -20°C), making it a logical choice for outdoor lighting.
  • Environment- In addition to lower energy consumption, LED lighting has a lower environmental impact too – most LEDs can be recycled at the correct facilities, but more importantly, no mercury is used, so if the bulb or unit is disposed of with regular waste, it won’t contaminate landfill sites.
  • Battery – Due to the smaller amount of power required, LEDs are suitable for emergency lighting and solar styles.
  • Adaptability – Many LED lights, particularly smart models, provide greater flexibility than traditional types, with the ability to change the colour temperature (perfect for office spaces where cool white is better in the morning and warm white in the afternoon or evening) as well as the brightness of the light.

How much can I save by converting to LED?

Great question – and the answer is one you’ll like! The combination of longer lifespan and lower energy consumption guarantees a return on investment, whether you’re talking one bulb or a thousand.

Switching to LED bulbs saves money in the home – the Energy Saving Trust estimates around £13 per year per 100 watt incandescent bulb replaced – which adds up to a significant saving throughout the home. In a business, where lighting is kept on for longer hours and bulb changes have typically been much more frequent, an LED conversion can save thousands of pounds per year.

Making the change to LEDs has the potential to save your business thousands of pounds, and even a 20% reduction in your energy costs could provide the same benefit as a 5% increase in sales.

 

LED conversion case study

To give you an idea of how much you can save, here’s an example scenario calculating the benefits of an LED conversion. In this example, the bulbs are installed in a stairwell, and are switched on permanently, 24 hours a day.

Pre-conversion costs

Based on 20p per Kw/H for non domestic use as published by the Government Statistical Data June 2022

 

Post conversion running costs

Based on 20p per Kw/H for non domestic use as published by the Government Statistical Data June 2022

As you can see, annual running costs are reduced by £19,053 per year. Even with the increased cost of the bulbs, there are still overall savings in excess of £11,000 to be made – think of what else you could spend those thousands on!

Having made a strong case for conversion based on running costs, the only objection left is that of the initial outlay to buy the replacements. But the cost of LED bulbs and lights has reduced and is now comparable with traditional incandescent bulbs.

Lighting controls such as smart lighting with Wi-Fi connectivity, dimmers, motion sensors and timers can substantially reduce energy costs and when you’re tackling an LED conversion, this is a great time to install these. These controls also increase bulb lifespan, further reducing maintenance costs.

 

LED conversion conclusion

The upfront cost of tackling an LED conversion shouldn’t be one that deters businesses from making the switch, since LED lighting offers a large number of benefits. A substantial reduction in energy bills is the main reason to change to LEDs, but the reduction in maintenance costs can also be significant, depending on the size and nature of the building – and allows your maintenance team to work more efficiently too.

Reducing the carbon footprint of your business by switching to LED is a worthwhile endeavour, and as part of wider efforts to support the environment, is an initiative that customers will appreciate – and since halogen lights have now been banned in the UK, replacing existing bulbs with LEDs just makes sense.

An LED conversion can be achieved with very little disruption to your business. Lyco Direct have helped some of the UK’s biggest companies convert to LED. For larger projects, we offer flexible finance schemes that allow you to offset payment with energy savings.

If you’d like free expert advice on converting your business’s lighting to LED, please give us a call on 0345 646 1133 or send us an email and we’ll be happy to help.

Feeling inspired? Browse our full range of LED bulbs and LED lighting.

Looking for more information on lighting? Visit our Lighting Advice page.

 

andrew-author-bio

Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying

Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.

Simple guide to converting your lighting to LED

There’s never been a better time to convert your lighting to the very latest LED technology. The great news is that the price of LED bulbs has fallen drastically whilst the quality has got better and better.  Also LED bulbs use up to 90% less energy than regular bulbs and last up to 50 times longer.  It’s a real win, win!

After almost 20 years in lighting we like to think of ourselves as your Lighting Experts. We understand all lighting including LED. We have already helped 1000s of customers convert to LED with little or no inconvenience along the way so why not let us help you?

Here is our step-by-step guide to saving ££££s on your ever increasing energy bills:

Step 1 – Survey

Call us and we can help you undertake a simple survey of your premises. This can probably be carried out over the phone but otherwise we might need to visit your premises and carry out an on-site survey. From this we can produce a quick report and show you the savings that can be made by switching to LED.

Step 2 – Product Selection

We will make suggestions as to the best products that will meet your needs. We will take into consideration such things as light level requirements, dimming and use in order to recommend the optimum products. We offer LED from the major manufacturers and will always offer you the best option, not the most expensive!

Step 3 – The Plan

Depending on the size of your premises we will help you devise a plan to convert your lighting. We will help you look for the ‘quick wins’ and assist with testing and installing. We will make sure all the items you require are delivered before you are ready to start the installation.

Step 4 – Installation

We can offer a full installation service or we can guide you or your maintenance team through the installation process. Whether you are using us to install your lighting or not, we will always be there to ‘hold your hand’ through the entire process.

Step 5 – Start Saving

As soon as you have switched to LED you will start saving money.  Depending on the size of your building you could see a return on your original cost in as little as 6 months.

Start the switch today!

We make it sound simple because with the right help switching to LED lighting is! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop us a line or give us a call. We’ll be more than happy to offer some sound advice and start you on the path to improving your lighting efficiency, whilst saving you money at the same time.

If you would like to find out what sort of savings you can make by converting to LED take a look at our ‘How much will I save’ article.

For more advice, inspiration and news take a look at our Lighting Advice section.

Charles Barnett Managing Director

Charles started Lyco in 1995 with just 4 enthusiastic employees and has grown it considerably over the past 25 years. Charles is also the Managing Director of Lighting Direct and newly acquired Online Lighting. He now has a team of 50 lighting experts working on growing Lyco Group to be the UK leader in lighting for both businesses and homes. Away from the office he is a keen cyclist and is proud to have cycled 1017 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money for a new residential centre for adults with multiple learning difficulties.