When making purchasing decision on energy efficient lighting, it is not uncommon for people to choose LED tubes lights on price alone. With conventional lamps where all things are equal, per-lamp price is a reasonable yardstick. However, with LED T8 lamps all things are everything but equal. Per-lamp price alone is inadequate to reflect the real cost of a retrofit project. Experienced lighting professionals are now considering  these factors when calculating the true cost of a retrofit project:

• Per-lamp price
• Per-lamp installation labor cost (50% labor saving is a lot)
• Per-lamp accessories cost (for new tombstones, wirings, or an external driver)
• Per-lamp rebate (available only for qualified LED products listed with LDL or DCL)
• Per-lamp incentive (for it has strict requirements and expiration date)
• Per-lamp energy difference (18W LED T8 saves 18% more energy comparing to 22W LED T8.)
• Warranty (Rebate lists routinely call for 5-year warranty, thus a 3-year warranty is no longer acceptable.)
• UL label (IFAR 1598c will be the standard in Feb, 2013, and many LED T8’s will lose their listing.)

With this holistic view for your retrofit project, buying a “lesser” LED T8 may be the wrong choice. Saving money by using a single-end lamp that only carries a 3-year warranty won’t get you the rebates. Also, you will need to use non-shunted tombstones, which your fixture may not have. Lastly, change-out time is greater since the fixture will require the electrician more labor time.  Now, how much did you really save with the “lesser” LED tube with that 3-year warranty, additional 4-watt higher on power consumption and without any rebate qualification, no UL1598C classification and requiring 50% more labor time on replacing fixture tombstone? You actually end up paying a lot more on a project basis with this “lesser” LED tube even though its per-lamp cost is cheaper.

The Aleddra EasiRetrofit™ LED T8 is designed to be intuitive with minimal labor cost and can be used with both non-shunted & shunted tombstones. A 5-year warranty, UL1598C classification, and rebate-ready LED T8 lamp will in fact be the better investment/ROI. This is why it is fast becoming the preferred choice by decision makers and qualified electricians. Email us at [email protected] to learn how you too can get a much better value/ROI on your energy efficient project.