Cut Energy Costs with Commercial Lighting Installation: ROI Guide for Dallas Fort Worth Businesses

Most Dallas-Fort Worth businesses are throwing away 30–40% of their lighting budget every month—and they don’t even know it. It’s not showing up as a line item that says “wasted electricity.” It’s buried in your monthly utility bill, mixed in with everything else, quietly draining money that could be going back into your business.

Here’s the good news: this is one of the most fixable problems in commercial operations. Unlike a lot of financial leaks, energy waste from outdated lighting has a clear solution, a calculable payback period, and government incentives designed to help you get there faster. This guide walks you through exactly how to quantify what you’re losing, what a lighting upgrade actually costs, and how to calculate when it pays for itself—with real numbers, not vague promises.

Whether you’re running a 5,000 square foot retail showroom in Fort Worth or a 30,000 square foot warehouse in Irving, the framework is the same. Let’s get into it.

Why Commercial Lighting Costs Are Eating Your Bottom Line

Lighting is one of those operating costs that doesn’t get much attention until something breaks. You flip the switch, the lights come on, and the bill gets paid. But what most business owners don’t realize is that their lighting system—especially if it’s more than 10 years old—is working against them in two separate ways: it’s consuming far more electricity than it needs to, and in Texas, it’s making your cooling system work overtime.

Lighting typically accounts for 20–30% of a commercial building’s total electricity bill in Texas. For a business paying $5,000 a month in utilities, that’s $1,000–$1,500 going toward lighting alone. If your system is running on older fluorescent or incandescent technology, a significant portion of that spend is pure waste—energy that’s being converted to heat instead of light, and then costing you again when your AC has to remove that heat from the building.

The frustrating part is that this cost is invisible. It doesn’t announce itself. It just shows up as a slightly higher utility bill every month, and most business owners chalk it up to “that’s just what electricity costs in Texas.” It doesn’t have to be.

Investing in commercial electrical upgrades—including a lighting retrofit—is one of the highest-ROI improvements a DFW business can make. And unlike a lot of capital improvements, this one pays you back on a measurable timeline.

The Real Cost of Outdated Lighting Systems

Fluorescent lighting was a major improvement over incandescent when it was introduced, but the technology has real limitations—and those limitations get worse over time. Fluorescent ballasts (the components that regulate current to the bulbs) degrade as they age. An old ballast can draw 15–20% more power than a new one while producing the same amount of light. You’re paying more for the same output, and you’d never know it without measuring.

Incandescent bulbs are even worse. They convert roughly 90% of the energy they consume into heat, not light. That means for every dollar you spend on electricity to power an incandescent fixture, only about 10 cents is actually illuminating your space. The rest is heating your building—which, in Texas, is the last thing you want.

Older systems also lack the control features that modern lighting takes for granted. There’s no dimming when daylight is sufficient. There’s no automatic shutoff when a room is empty. The lights run at 100% capacity whether someone is in the space or not. A conference room that sits empty for six hours a day is still running your meter the whole time.

How DFW’s Climate Amplifies the Problem

This is the part that most businesses in other parts of the country don’t have to think about as much—but in Dallas-Fort Worth, it’s a significant factor. Texas summers are long and brutal, and most commercial buildings are running their AC systems for 8–10 months out of the year.

Every watt of heat generated by your lighting system has to be removed by your HVAC. Studies consistently show that this forces cooling systems to work 20–30% harder than they would otherwise need to. So when your old fluorescent fixtures are dumping heat into a 95-degree Texas summer, your AC is running longer, consuming more electricity, and wearing out faster—all because of your lighting.

This creates a compounding cost that most businesses never connect back to their lights. They see a high AC bill and assume it’s just the Texas heat. Sometimes it is. But a meaningful portion of that cooling load is being generated by inefficient lighting that could be replaced with something that runs cool and uses a fraction of the energy.

In the DFW metroplex, where summer temperatures routinely exceed 100°F and the cooling season stretches from April through October, the heat-output problem with old lighting isn’t a minor inconvenience—it’s a real and ongoing cost multiplier that makes every inefficient fixture more expensive than it looks on paper.

LED Lighting: The Numbers Behind the Savings

LED technology has matured significantly over the past decade. The early LED products had a reputation for being expensive, inconsistent in color quality, and not quite bright enough for commercial applications. That reputation is outdated. Modern commercial-grade LED systems are brighter, more consistent, longer-lasting, and dramatically more efficient than anything they’re replacing.

The core savings number is this: LED lighting installation for commercial spaces typically reduces energy consumption by 40–75% compared to fluorescent or incandescent equivalents. That’s not a marketing claim—it’s a function of how the technology works. LEDs convert a much higher percentage of electricity directly into light, with minimal heat loss.

For a DFW commercial building, the average annual savings from a full LED retrofit range from $8,000 to $25,000, depending on building size, current system type, and whether smart controls are included. That’s real money that goes back into your operations every year, not just in the first year—every year, indefinitely, as long as the system is running.

Energy Savings Breakdown

Let’s break down where the savings actually come from, because it’s not just one thing—it’s three distinct categories that stack on top of each other.

Direct energy reduction: This is the most obvious one. LEDs use 40–75% fewer kilowatt-hours than the systems they replace. A 32-watt fluorescent tube can be replaced by an 18-watt LED tube that produces the same or better light output. Multiply that across hundreds or thousands of fixtures in a commercial building, and the kWh reduction is substantial.

Cooling cost reduction: Because LEDs produce very little heat compared to fluorescent and incandescent systems, your HVAC doesn’t have to work as hard. Most buildings see a 10–20% reduction in cooling costs after a full LED retrofit. In Texas, where cooling is a major expense for most of the year, this is a significant secondary benefit that often gets overlooked in ROI calculations.

Maintenance savings: LED bulbs last 25,000–50,000 hours compared to roughly 10,000 hours for fluorescent lamps. That means you’re replacing bulbs 3–5 times less often. For a commercial building with hundreds of fixtures, the labor cost of re-lamping alone can run thousands of dollars per year. With LEDs, that cost drops dramatically—and the disruption to your business operations drops with it.

Smart Controls Multiply Your Savings

A lighting retrofit without smart controls is like buying a fuel-efficient car and leaving it running in the parking lot. You’re getting some of the benefit, but not all of it.

Modern LED systems can be paired with three types of controls that each deliver measurable additional savings:

• Occupancy sensors detect when a space is empty and automatically turn lights off or dim them to a low level. Conference rooms, restrooms, storage areas, and break rooms are prime candidates. A conference room that’s occupied 4 hours a day and empty for 12 can see 60–70% energy reduction from sensors alone.
• Daylight harvesting uses photosensors to detect natural light levels and dim artificial lighting proportionally. Perimeter offices, showrooms with skylights, and any space with significant window area can benefit. This can reduce lighting energy in those zones by 20–40% during daylight hours.
• Scheduling systems align lighting with actual business hours, automatically reducing output during evenings, weekends, and holidays. For businesses that don’t always remember to turn everything off, this is a simple and reliable way to eliminate after-hours waste.

Together, smart controls typically add another 15–30% in savings on top of the base LED efficiency gains. The controls themselves add 10–15% to the retrofit cost, but the additional savings they generate usually pay for that incremental investment within 2–3 years.

Calculating Your ROI: A Step-by-Step Framework

One of the reasons businesses hesitate on lighting retrofits is that the ROI feels abstract. “You’ll save money” isn’t a business case—it’s a sales pitch. What you actually need is a specific number: how long until this pays for itself?

The good news is that the calculation is genuinely straightforward. You need three inputs: what you’re currently spending on lighting energy, what the retrofit will cost, and what percentage of savings you can expect. Here’s how to work through each one.

Step 1: Find Your Current Lighting Energy Spend

Pull your last 12 months of utility bills and add up your total electricity spend. Don’t try to figure out the exact lighting portion from the bill—utilities don’t break it down that way. Instead, use a simple estimate: lighting typically represents 20–30% of a commercial building’s total electric bill.

For a rough calculation, multiply your average monthly electric bill by 0.25. That gives you an estimate of your monthly lighting energy cost. Multiply by 12 for an annual figure.

Example: If your average monthly electric bill is $4,000, your estimated annual lighting cost is $4,000 × 0.25 × 12 = $12,000 per year.

This is an estimate, not a precise measurement. A professional energy audit will give you exact numbers by actually measuring the wattage of your current fixtures and calculating consumption based on operating hours. But for a back-of-the-envelope calculation, this gets you close enough to understand the opportunity.

Step 2: Estimate Your Retrofit Cost

LED retrofit costs in DFW typically range from $2–$6 per square foot, depending on the type of fixtures being replaced, the complexity of the installation, and whether smart controls are included. High-bay warehouse fixtures cost more than standard office troffers. Buildings with complex wiring or older electrical infrastructure may require additional work.

A rough breakdown for a typical commercial retrofit:

• 10,000 sq ft office or retail space: $20,000–$60,000
• 25,000 sq ft warehouse: $50,000–$150,000
• Labor is typically 40–50% of the total cost; materials are 50–60%

The most accurate way to get your retrofit cost is to have a contractor do a free energy audit and provide a detailed quote. Getting an accurate number is the first step in the ROI calculation—and it’s worth doing before you make any decisions. You can request a free electrical estimate to get exact numbers for your building without any obligation.

Step 3: Calculate Annual Savings

Apply a 50% average savings rate to your current lighting energy spend. This is a conservative estimate—many retrofits deliver 60–70% savings, especially when smart controls are included. But 50% is a safe number to use for planning purposes.

Example: If your current lighting cost is $12,000 per year, expected annual savings = $12,000 × 0.50 = $6,000 per year.

Now calculate your payback period: Retrofit Cost ÷ Annual Savings = Years to Payback.

Example: $40,000 retrofit ÷ $6,000 annual savings = 6.7 years. Apply a 30% federal tax credit ($12,000) and $3,000 in Oncor rebates, and your net cost drops to $25,000. Now the payback is $25,000 ÷ $6,000 = 4.2 years. After that, every year is $6,000 back in your pocket.

Tax Incentives and Rebates in Texas

Here’s something that surprises a lot of business owners: the government and your utility company actually want to help pay for your lighting upgrade. There are three separate incentive programs available to DFW businesses, and together they can cover 30–50% of your retrofit cost. Most businesses leave this money on the table simply because they don’t know to ask for it.

If you’re working with commercial electrical services in Dallas-Fort Worth, a reputable contractor will walk you through all available rebates and handle the paperwork. But it’s worth understanding what’s available so you know what to ask for.

Federal Tax Credit (30%)

The federal Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D) allows commercial building owners to claim a significant deduction for qualifying energy-efficient improvements, including LED lighting upgrades. For most commercial properties, this translates to a credit equivalent to roughly 30% of the retrofit cost, available through 2032 under the Inflation Reduction Act.

This applies to both retrofit projects (upgrading existing lighting) and new construction. The credit must be claimed in the tax year the project is completed, so timing your retrofit with your fiscal year can be worth a conversation with your accountant. On a $50,000 retrofit, that’s $15,000 back at tax time—a substantial reduction in your effective project cost.

Oncor Rebate Program

Oncor Electric Delivery is the primary utility serving the DFW metroplex, and they offer a commercial energy efficiency rebate program that covers LED upgrades. Current rebates range from $0.30–$0.50 per fixture for qualifying LED installations, including tubes, fixtures, and controls.

On a building with 500 fixtures, that’s $150–$250 in rebates. It doesn’t sound like a lot until you scale it up—a 25,000 square foot warehouse might have 800–1,200 fixtures, putting the rebate at $240–$600. Combined with the federal tax credit, the total incentive package can meaningfully reduce your net project cost and shorten your payback period.

The Oncor program is ongoing but subject to funding availability, which means it’s worth applying sooner rather than later. Your contractor can help with the application process.

Property Tax Exemption

This one is specific to Texas and often overlooked entirely. Under the Texas Property Tax Code, energy-efficient improvements to commercial and industrial properties are excluded from property tax reassessment. In plain terms: if your LED retrofit increases the value of your building (which it does), you won’t see a higher property tax bill as a result.

This isn’t a direct cash incentive, but it removes a concern that some business owners have about capital improvements triggering higher taxes. You get the full financial benefit of the upgrade—lower energy costs, higher building value—without the downside of increased property tax burden.

Real DFW Business Case Studies: What Others Are Saving

Numbers in the abstract are useful, but what most business owners really want to know is: what happened to a business like mine? Here are three representative examples from commercial lighting projects in DFW, covering different building types and sizes. The specific numbers are typical for each building type and size range.

Case Study 1: Retail Showroom (8,000 sq ft)

A retail showroom in the Fort Worth area was running a mix of older fluorescent troffers and track lighting throughout their sales floor and back office. Their annual lighting energy cost was approximately $4,200, and they were spending an additional $800–$1,000 per year on lamp replacements and ballast repairs.

The full LED retrofit—including new fixtures, updated wiring, and dimming controls on the sales floor—came in at $32,000. After applying the federal tax credit (approximately $9,600) and Oncor rebates (approximately $1,800), the net project cost was around $20,600.

Annual energy savings: $2,100 (50% reduction in lighting energy costs). Payback period on net investment: approximately 10 months. Additional maintenance savings of $900 per year bring the total annual benefit to $3,000.

The non-financial benefit that the owner mentioned first: the product display lighting was dramatically better. LED fixtures with higher color rendering made merchandise look more vibrant and appealing. Several customers commented on the improvement without being prompted.

Case Study 2: Office Building (15,000 sq ft)

A multi-tenant office building in the Arlington area had original fluorescent lighting throughout—2×4 troffers in open office areas, 2×2 fixtures in private offices, and older industrial fixtures in the parking garage. Annual lighting energy cost: $6,800. The building manager was also spending significant time coordinating lamp replacements across multiple tenant spaces.

The retrofit included LED troffers throughout, occupancy sensors in private offices and conference rooms, and daylight harvesting controls on the south-facing perimeter. Total project cost: $54,000. After incentives (approximately $16,200 federal credit + $2,700 Oncor rebates), net cost: approximately $35,100.

Annual energy savings: $3,400 (50% reduction). Occupancy sensors and daylight harvesting reduced after-hours and low-occupancy waste by an additional 40% in those zones, pushing total savings closer to $4,200 annually. Payback period: approximately 8 months on net investment. Maintenance calls for lighting dropped by 80% in the first year.

Case Study 3: Warehouse (25,000 sq ft)

A distribution warehouse in the Grand Prairie area was running 400-watt metal halide high-bay fixtures throughout the facility—a common setup in older industrial buildings. These fixtures are notoriously inefficient, produce significant heat, and take 15–20 minutes to reach full brightness after being switched on. Annual lighting energy cost: $8,500.

The retrofit replaced all high-bay fixtures with 150-watt LED equivalents that produce equivalent or better light output. Motion sensors were added in low-traffic areas. Total project cost: $75,000. After incentives (approximately $22,500 federal + $4,500 Oncor), net cost: approximately $48,000.

Annual energy savings: $4,250 (50% reduction). Payback period: approximately 11 months on net investment. The operational benefits were significant: the new fixtures reach full brightness instantly, improving safety during early morning shifts when the building is first opened. The operations manager noted a measurable reduction in forklift near-misses in areas that previously had inconsistent lighting.

Beyond Energy Savings: The Hidden Benefits of LED Upgrades

The ROI calculation we’ve been building focuses on energy costs because that’s where the biggest numbers live. But there are real benefits to an LED retrofit that don’t show up in a kWh calculation—and for some businesses, these secondary benefits are just as compelling as the financial ones.

Modern LED systems can also be integrated with smart commercial electrical systems for additional efficiency gains, building automation, and remote management capabilities that older lighting systems simply can’t support.

Employee Productivity and Well-Being

The quality of light in a workspace has a measurable impact on the people working in it. Older fluorescent systems—especially aging ones—produce a slightly flickering light that the human eye can’t consciously detect but that the brain registers as visual noise. Over the course of a workday, this contributes to eye fatigue, headaches, and reduced focus.

LED lighting produces a steady, consistent light output with no flicker. Modern commercial LEDs are also available in color temperatures that closely match natural daylight (5000K–6500K), which supports alertness and concentration. Research from multiple workplace studies has found that better lighting quality correlates with 5–10% productivity gains in office environments. That’s not a trivial number when you multiply it across a team of 20 or 50 people.

For businesses in manufacturing, healthcare, or any environment where visual precision matters, the improvement in color rendering (CRI) that comes with quality LEDs can directly affect work quality and error rates. An LED fixture with a CRI of 90+ renders colors much more accurately than a standard fluorescent, which matters when your employees are inspecting products, reading fine print, or working with color-coded materials.

Maintenance and Operational Efficiency

This is a benefit that facilities managers appreciate immediately: fewer service calls. When you’re running fluorescent fixtures, you’re dealing with burned-out lamps, failing ballasts, flickering lights, and the ongoing logistics of keeping spare parts on hand. In a large commercial building, re-lamping is a regular maintenance activity that consumes staff time and creates business disruption.

LED bulbs rated for 25,000–50,000 hours of operation will last 10–20 years at typical commercial usage rates (12 hours per day). That means a building that retrofitted in 2024 may not need its first lamp replacement until 2034 or later. The reduction in maintenance labor, parts costs, and operational disruption is real and ongoing.

Smart controls reduce the need for manual adjustments as well. Instead of someone walking the building at the end of the day to make sure lights are off, the system handles it automatically. For multi-location businesses, this kind of hands-off operation has obvious appeal.

Brand and Customer Perception

This one is harder to quantify but worth acknowledging. The quality and character of your lighting shapes how customers experience your space. A retail store with bright, consistent, high-CRI LED lighting looks more professional and inviting than one with aging fluorescents that cast a slightly yellow or flickering light. A restaurant with well-designed LED ambiance lighting feels more intentional and upscale than one with outdated fixtures.

There’s also a sustainability angle that increasingly matters to customers and employees. A business that has visibly invested in energy efficiency—and can talk about it—sends a signal that it’s forward-thinking and responsible. For companies that are building a brand around sustainability or trying to attract employees who care about environmental impact, a lighting upgrade is a tangible, visible statement.

In the DFW market, where competition for both customers and talent is intense, the operational and brand benefits of a modern lighting system are real differentiators—not just nice-to-haves.

Common Mistakes Businesses Make with Lighting Upgrades

A lighting retrofit is a straightforward investment, but there are a few ways to do it wrong—and doing it wrong can significantly reduce your savings, shorten your system’s lifespan, or create problems that cost more to fix later. Here’s what to watch out for.

Before any retrofit, it’s worth having a professional electrical inspection for commercial buildings to assess your existing infrastructure. Skipping this step is one of the most common and costly mistakes businesses make.

Mistake 1: Buying Cheap LEDs Without Checking Quality

The LED market has a wide quality range, and the price difference between a budget fixture and a commercial-grade one isn’t always obvious from the spec sheet. Low-cost LEDs often use inferior drivers (the electronic components that regulate power to the LEDs), which are the first components to fail. A fixture that costs 30% less but fails in 4 years instead of lasting 15 is not a bargain—it’s a liability.

When evaluating LED products, look for fixtures with a minimum 5-year warranty on the complete fixture (not just the LED chips), a proven track record in commercial applications, and compliance with DesignLights Consortium (DLC) standards, which is the industry benchmark for commercial LED quality. Your contractor should be specifying products that meet these standards as a baseline, not as an upgrade option.

Mistake 2: Skipping Smart Controls

We’ve covered this in the savings section, but it bears repeating in the context of mistakes because it’s so common. Business owners see the controls line item on a retrofit quote and decide to remove it to reduce upfront cost. This is almost always the wrong call.

Controls typically add 10–15% to a retrofit budget but deliver 15–30% in additional energy savings. The math almost always favors including them. More importantly, some of the most impactful controls—occupancy sensors in restrooms, storage areas, and conference rooms—are inexpensive and have very fast payback periods on their own. Skipping them to save a few thousand dollars upfront often costs tens of thousands over the life of the system.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Electrical Infrastructure

A lighting retrofit changes the electrical load profile of your building. In most cases, LEDs draw significantly less power than the systems they replace, which is a good thing—but it’s not a reason to skip an infrastructure assessment. Old wiring, outdated panels, or circuits that weren’t properly sized for the original system can create problems even with a lower-load LED installation.

More importantly, some older commercial buildings have wiring conditions that should be addressed before installing a new lighting system. Discovering a wiring problem mid-project is expensive and disruptive. Discovering it during a pre-retrofit assessment is manageable. A proper electrical assessment upfront ensures the retrofit is built on a solid foundation and that there won’t be costly surprises once the work is underway.

Choosing the Right Contractor for Your LED Retrofit

The quality of your retrofit is only as good as the contractor who does it. This isn’t a project where you want to go with the lowest bid without asking questions. A lighting retrofit involves electrical work, product specification, rebate applications, and ongoing system performance—and a contractor who cuts corners on any of these will cost you more in the long run.

Epic Electrical’s commercial lighting services are built around a simple principle: honest numbers, no pressure, and a detailed plan before we start. That’s the standard you should hold any contractor to.

Red Flags to Watch For

Not every contractor who offers LED retrofits has the experience or integrity to do the job well. Here are the warning signs that should give you pause:

• No written estimate or detailed breakdown. Any legitimate contractor will provide a written scope of work with itemized costs. If they’re reluctant to put it in writing, that’s a problem.
• High-pressure sales tactics or “limited-time” offers. A good lighting retrofit is a sound investment regardless of when you do it. Anyone pressuring you to sign immediately is prioritizing their sale over your decision-making process.
• No mention of rebates or tax credits. A contractor who doesn’t bring up available incentives either doesn’t know about them (a knowledge gap) or is hoping you don’t ask (an integrity gap). Either way, it’s a red flag.
• Unclear licensing status. In Texas, electrical contractors must be licensed. Ask for their TECL (Texas Electrical Contractor License) number and verify it. This is a basic due diligence step that protects you legally and financially.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring

Before you sign a contract with any lighting contractor, get answers to these questions. A contractor who handles them confidently and specifically is one you can trust. One who hedges, deflects, or can’t give straight answers is one to pass on.

1. “Can you provide a free energy audit and ROI calculation before we commit to anything?” — This should be standard practice, not an upsell.
2. “How will you minimize disruption to our business during installation?” — They should have a specific answer about phasing, scheduling, and off-hours work.
3. “Do you handle the rebate paperwork, or is that our responsibility?” — A full-service contractor handles this. If they’re leaving it to you, factor in the administrative burden.
4. “What warranty do you offer on labor and materials?” — Look for a minimum 1-year labor warranty and 5-year fixture warranty.
5. “Can you provide references from similar commercial projects in DFW?” — Ask for references from businesses of comparable size and type to yours, and actually call them.

We’re a third-generation family business in DFW, and we approach every retrofit the same way: honest numbers, no pressure, and a detailed plan before we start. If you’d like to talk through your project, we’re here to help—no sales pitch, just a straight conversation about what makes sense for your building.

Planning Your Retrofit: Timeline and Implementation

One of the most common reasons businesses delay a lighting retrofit is concern about disruption. Nobody wants to shut down operations for weeks while contractors tear out fixtures and run new wiring. The good news is that a well-planned retrofit doesn’t require that—and a professional contractor should be able to work around your schedule without interrupting your business.

Professional commercial electrical project management means having a detailed plan in place before a single fixture is touched. Here’s what a typical retrofit timeline looks like.

Pre-Retrofit Planning (Weeks 1–2)

The planning phase is where most of the important decisions get made, and it’s where a good contractor earns their fee. This phase includes a comprehensive energy audit to establish baseline measurements, a detailed scope of work with a complete materials list, and scheduling coordination with your operations team to identify the best windows for installation work.

If permits are required (which depends on the scope of work and your municipality), applications are filed during this phase. In most DFW jurisdictions, a lighting retrofit that doesn’t involve panel work or significant wiring changes doesn’t require a permit, but this should be confirmed before work begins. Your contractor should know the requirements for your specific city or county.

The planning phase also includes finalizing the rebate application with Oncor, so the paperwork is ready to submit as soon as the project is complete. Getting this done upfront prevents delays in receiving your rebate check.

Installation Phase (Weeks 3–5)

The installation phase is where the physical work happens. For most commercial buildings, this is structured as a zone-by-zone process: one section of the building is worked on at a time, with other areas remaining fully operational. After-hours and weekend scheduling is common for businesses that can’t afford any daytime disruption.

The installation sequence typically follows this order: removal and recycling of old fixtures and ballasts (old fluorescent ballasts contain PCBs and must be disposed of properly—a reputable contractor handles this), new wiring and conduit where needed, fixture installation and connection, and controls installation and programming. Each zone is tested before moving to the next, so any issues are caught and resolved before the contractor moves on.

Old fluorescent ballasts and lamps contain hazardous materials and must be recycled through certified channels. This is another reason to work with a licensed contractor who handles disposal properly—improper disposal can create liability for the building owner.

Post-Installation (Week 6)

The final phase is commissioning—verifying that every fixture, sensor, and control is working as designed. This is where occupancy sensors are calibrated, daylight harvesting thresholds are set, and scheduling systems are programmed to match your actual business hours. It’s also where baseline energy measurements are taken to verify that the system is delivering the projected savings.

If your team will be using new controls—dimming systems, scheduling interfaces, or building automation integration—this is when training happens. Most modern controls are intuitive, but a 30-minute walkthrough with your facilities manager ensures everyone knows how to use the system effectively.

Finally, all documentation for rebate applications and tax credit claims is compiled and submitted. A good contractor provides you with a complete package: project documentation, energy baseline measurements, fixture specifications, and rebate application materials.

Next Steps: Getting Started with Your Retrofit

If you’ve made it this far, you have a solid understanding of what a commercial LED retrofit involves, what it costs, what it saves, and how to evaluate whether it makes sense for your building. The question now is: what’s the first step?

The answer is simple: a free energy audit. Not a sales call. Not a quote for work you haven’t agreed to. An audit—where someone actually measures your current lighting system, calculates your energy consumption, and shows you the specific numbers for your building.

An audit typically takes 1–2 hours for a commercial building. At the end of it, you’ll have a clear picture of what you’re currently spending on lighting, what a retrofit would cost, what you’d save annually, and how long it would take to pay for itself. You’ll understand the exact ROI before you commit to anything.

Most businesses are genuinely surprised by how quickly the numbers work out. When you factor in the federal tax credit, Oncor rebates, and the ongoing energy savings, the payback period is often shorter than people expect—and the annual savings after payback are often larger than they realized.

To schedule your free commercial lighting audit, reach out to our team. We’ll set up a time that works around your schedule, do a thorough assessment of your building, and give you a complete ROI analysis with no pressure and no obligation. If the numbers make sense, we’ll talk about next steps. If they don’t, we’ll tell you that too.

Frequently Asked Questions: Commercial LED Retrofits in DFW