Lighting Upgrade Calculation

[KP2]

Hello all, I'm looking into upgrading T-12 8 foot 2 lamp magnetic ballasts to T-8 electronic ballasts. I want to put together a energy savings proposal to show what will be saved and compare the cost of the job with the saving down the road.

My hopes will be to convince the customer to upgrade all of the lighting, about 150 units, as one job. the customer is intrested in energy savings but would rather change them as they go bad.

So I'm wondering were to begin.

Could there be a tax break?

Will the POCO offer any incentives?

Is there a spread sheet availble online?

Thanks

 

[malachi constant]

Check with your utility for rebate programs and forms. Either check online or a give them a quick call, that should answer your questions.

Federal government has an EPAct program, I don't recall if it applies to retrofits or just new construction.

As far as a spreadsheet goes, you need to figure out:
* how long the lights typically operate (annual hours)
* what the cost is of maintaining the existing fixtures (lamps and ballast replacement)
* what is the cost of operating the existing fixtures (i.e. the utility rate, and if you want to get complicated you could factor in peak rate billing)
* what is the cost of maintaining replacement fixtures
* what is the cost of installing replacement fixtures all at once

It isn't that complicated, but you have to pay attention to all the details or else the Owner may think of something you haven't and not trust your numbers at all.

Replacing T12s with T8s has a payback, but in our area it's on the order of five years, counting utility rebates. That is good enough for some clients to pull the trigger.