As LED lighting continues to penetrate the market, people assume rebates for these products must be dwindling. In reality, commercial lighting rebates are as strong as ever. Although rebates for some upgrades, such as screw-in A19s and PARs, have decreased over the years, some product categories still receive significant incentives.
The dollar amounts typically relate to the potential energy savings, product cost, complexity of installation, and adoption levels in the marketplace. Rebates exist to help utilities get their customers to save energy, so the types of upgrades that would get the best rebates are pretty obvious — they’re the ones that result in high energy savings.
Looking through all the programs across North America, BriteSwitch, a firm specializing in capturing local, utility, state, and federal rebates/incentives for businesses, determined four lighting products with the highest average rebate amounts.
High-bay luminaires
High bays have the highest average rebate across North America at $120 per luminaire. It's easy to understand the logic: These luminaires often replace HIDs and save anywhere from 40% to 60% in energy (Photo 1).
Even when replacing more efficient T5HO and T8 options, users can still achieve measurable energy savings. Therefore, it makes sense that rebate programs incentivize these types of luminaires so highly. Rebates for high bays can range depending on wattage or lumen output, but they don't usually vary based on the type (i.e., a linear luminaire and a round/UFO luminaire would have a similar rebate if they're similar wattage/lumens).
Pole lights
Like LED high bays, LED pole lights offer huge energy-saving potential and thus can receive high rebates as well. (Photo 2).
The average incentive for an LED pole light is $97 per luminaire. While screw-in mogul-base upgrades are also an option, the rebates for those are considerably less at only $53 per lamp. There are two DesignLight Consortium (DLC) categories for pole lights: "Area and Roadway" and "Decorative." Very few rebate programs distinguish between the two, so end-users can go as traditional or creative as they want when choosing an LED option. Make sure to check the program you're planning to use because some utilities only incentivize daytime peak demand reduction, meaning exterior lighting is ineligible.
Parking garage luminaires
Parking garage luminaires are a no-brainer when it comes to incentives. The lighting operates 24/7 in many cases, making it an excellent opportunity for savings and therefore rebates (Photo 3).
In addition, these facilities traditionally have HID or fluorescent solutions. The average rebate for parking garage luminaires across North America is $94 per luminaire.
Wall-mounted outdoor luminaires
Most commercial buildings in the United States have wall-mounted light luminaires installed around their perimeters, making them a great target from a rebate perspective (Photo 4).
The existing luminaires are typically HIDs and operate around 4,100 hours per year on average. By switching to LED, users can save a lot in this type of application. Because of this potential, the average incentive for LED wall-mounted luminaires is $91 per luminaire. Exterior lighting has been one of the segments to adopt LEDs quickly, but there are still many potential projects. According to the most recent U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimate, only 45.8% of exterior lighting has upgraded to LED so far.
Do controls get high rebates?
On their own, lighting controls don't make the list of top rebate-eligible lighting products. However, combining these products with any of the luminaires above would result in even higher amounts. Sometimes, the additional incentive is a fixed dollar amount. In other cases, it's based on how many watts the sensor or timer controls. In addition, luminaire level lighting controls (LLLCs) and networked lighting controls (NLCs) can potentially earn even more — sometimes up to double (Photo 5).
Don't forget about cost caps
When you're dealing with such high rebate amounts, it's important to remember to take cost caps into account. A cost cap is a maximum percentage of the cost that the rebate program is willing to pay. Depending on the program, they could consider material, labor, or total project cost. For example, a utility may offer a rebate of $200 for a high-bay luminaire, but they limit (or cap) the actual amount to 50% of material cost. You can learn more about cost caps at https://bit.ly/37VFp9k.
Rebate amounts aren't always clear
The rebate amounts previously mentioned are the average across North America, but the actual rebate you will see can vary. Even a single utility can have various rebate amounts for one luminaire type, depending on its wattage or lumens. For example, the high-bay rebate for Duke Energy in North Carolina varies from $25 to $300 per luminaire, depending on what lighting is being replaced.
Working the rebate programs for the highest amount
BriteSwitch worked with a granite retailer in New Jersey that wanted to upgrade its old HID lighting in its outdoor showroom. The retailer had two choices: a 150W, 20,864-lm luminaire and a 209W, 28,989-lm luminaire (Photo 6).
While the lower wattage luminaire would have produced higher energy savings, light levels were important here so customers could best evaluate the quality of the granite slabs. The facility manager was on the fence, but due to how the New Jersey program worked, the retailer received an extra $25 rebate per luminaire by going with the higher light output model, making it an easy choice.
Take advantage of these rebates
If you are working on a project using any of these types of luminaires, make sure to research the rebate potential. With such high rebate amounts, the payback for an upgrade could significantly improve the financials. It's essential to investigate these early in the process to ensure the luminaire you choose meets the program requirements and be aware of any deadlines that may affect the project.
Randy Young is the operations manager at BriteSwitch, a company that specializes in finding and capturing rebates for businesses. He can be reached at [email protected].
