Today’s successful industrial and commercial businesses strive to innovate, finding new ways to operate efficiently and save money while enhancing worker experience and product quality. One of the areas that’s been proven to make an impact is lighting. Many businesses may be aware of options but are unsure of how to implement a solid plan; while others are starting from scratch in their exploration of how lighting can save money and deliver real value. That’s where an Agilix Solutions lighting audit comes in.
What is a Lighting Audit?
A lighting audit, performed by Agilix Solutions, is an in-depth assessment, analysis and report of a facility’s current lighting. Our complimentary audit can benefit a wide range of customers from industrial to commercial spaces, both indoor and outdoor lighting, and facilities as small as a few hundred square feet, to as large as an urban hospital.
Typically, customers requesting a lighting audit are thinking first of energy-efficiency. This is a great reason to analyze your current lighting. Once we proceed with our comprehensive process, however, we begin to uncover benefits that go far beyond efficiency.
In this blog, we will review that process and outline the real business impact you may experience with a lighting audit and plan implementation.
Our Lighting Audit Process
At Agilix Solutions, we guide you through a four-step process to ensure a successful lighting upgrade. We start with Discovery, discussing your goals and challenges. Then, we perform a Physical Audit to assess your current lighting setup. Next, we provide a comprehensive Audit and ROI Report with tailored recommendations. Finally, we assist in executing the Lighting Plan, supplying fixtures and controls and coordinating the installation to meet your needs and investment expectations.
1. Discovery
The initial discovery phase includes a conversation with the customer. Our goal is to determine what you want to achieve. Key points we seek to understand include:
- What is driving this upgrade initiative?
- Common answers might be: Energy savings, maintenance savings, increased light levels, upgraded look, better controls, Compliance issues etc.
- What challenges are you facing with your current lighting?
- Do you have areas that require a defined environmental specification?
- Are you able to take advantage of Utility incentives?
- What work is performed in specific spaces on a daily basis? Are there lighting concerns in these areas?
2. Physical Audit
Once your goals and needs are understood, the Agilix Solutions team will walk the space to:
- Document existing interior and exterior lamps, fixtures and emergency lighting.
- Measure the fixtures’ heights, spacing, current light levels, wattages and voltages.
- Document the current facility hours of operation.
- Identify areas that may be appropriate for controls such as occupancy sensors, dimming, zone control and daylight harvesting.
- Gather current utility bills.
- Analyze maintenance expenditures associated with the current lighting systems
3. Delivery of Audit and ROI Report
Once all pertinent information is gathered, the Agilix Solutions team will evaluate the existing lighting scheme with respect to its age, effectiveness, and maintainability. The cost of running the incumbent technology is thoughtfully weighed against modern lighting specifications. It is then we deliver our audit report. It will detail all areas of inspection and provide options for lighting replacement, retrofits, and control systems available to help you reach your goals. All options are considered, and we approach our report just as we did in the discovery phase – as consultants working to identify the best solution for your facility. Additionally, in the report, you will find:
- Recommended lighting products. This includes a list of fixtures and controls to deliver the amount of light based on the time of the day, room/area use, and availability of natural light. Material costs are shown on the quote.
- Photometrics report (when appropriate). This is a layout of your facility with the plotting of new fixtures and foot-candle measurements showing light level improvement.
- ROI/ Financial report. Contained within this is an adoption budget, estimated Utility Incentives, as well as a ROI for the acquisition and installation costs. Because we’ve taken the time to understand your existing energy and maintenance expenditures, we can detail how much you’ll save and how quickly the project will pay for itself. We’re also intimately familiar with various incentive programs, so we’ll include these in the calculation and your report, as well.
4. Lighting Plan Execution
The Agilix Solutions team works with each customer to accommodate their best course of action for lighting plan implementation. In some cases, there may already be funds budgeted to tackle the project in its entirety, or in other instances, we are helping the customer to plan for a phased approach as project funding is approved and becomes available. In either case, the strength of Agilix Solutions’ inventory, warehousing space and logistics capabilities become a great asset to our customers as they journey through the project. Agilix Solutions will:
- Supply the recommended fixtures and controls.
- If needed, we can help with the selection of an electrical contractor for installation.
- In some cases, we can act as a general contractor for your lighting project. In this scenario, we will turnkey the project on your behalf, including hiring and sub-contracting an electrical contractor for the installation.
- Submit applications for lighting incentives.
- Deliver and stage materials when and where you need them.
- Recycle old fluorescent tubes and ballasts.
- Help with manufacturer warranty issues as they arise in the future.
The Benefits of an Agilix Solutions Lighting Audit
A lighting audit with Agilix Solutions delivers more than just savings on energy and costs—businesses often enjoy these additional benefits:
- Demonstrate cost reduction strategies. Some manufacturers must demonstrate cost-cutting and energy efficiency strategies to their retail partners proving they are working to reduce overhead costs to make their products more price competitive.
- Marketing environmental benefits. By making your facility eco-friendly, you communicate to your customers that you are environmentally conscious.
- Safety. Good lighting is essential for workers to be able to effectively perform their jobs. When a facility has low or poor lighting it can pose a safety risk to workers. We can work with your safety manager to support your specifications or standards.
- A morale boost for the team. A well-lit environment is a more inviting and can help to bolster a work force which, in turn, will promote productivity. Just like a day out in the sun, a brighter environment makes for a mood boost.
- Moving into the future. The latest lighting technology is sure to save you money, but it will also upgrade your facility and make it more in line with best practices. For example, the use of LED lighting can help you save on maintenance costs in the future. LED lights will last longer and require less maintenance as you do not need to change out lamps as often. LED lighting outperforms fluorescent lighting on average by 44%*
- Utility incentives. Local utility companies often offer incentives that enhance ROI once lighting upgrades are in place.
Get Started Today
The Agilix Solutions Lighting Team is ready to help you achieve your goals and educate you on making informed lighting decisions. For more information or to begin the process, email [email protected], contact your Agilix Solutions Account Manager, or reach out to us online.
Source: https://news.umich.edu/u-m-study-outlines-cost-energy-savings-of-switching-from-fluorescent-lamps-to-leds/