When your business gets a range of lighting installation quotes, you might find that some of them can vary in price. And you may wonder why some companies are able to quote you one price and other companies a different price? But what makes up the differences in costs and what should you be looking for in those pricing structures?
If you do receive a dramatically cheaper quote, here are some things to consider when reviewing it:
Quality of lights
LED lights are made from chips that emit phosphor. Billions of these chips are manufactured and not all chips are equal in quality. The better the quality of chips in the LED light, the better the quality of the light. LED lights which are made from the lesser quality chips are cheaper to purchase but unlikely to last as long.
If a quote is significantly cheaper because of low-quality products, then you may also wish to consider whether you will get the right brightness or colour for your property, this is determined by the colour rending index. Colouring rendering index is a scale of how light can impact the colour of an object to the human eye, and lighting can be used to enhance a room and its environment using this index. Cheaper LED lights can emit different colours, make it more difficult to work with and even impact your productivity.
Changing the bulb
As the cost of the LED light goes down, so does the standards of cheaper lighting components. This is where savings are made in the short term. However, these lights have a shorter lifespan and the hidden costs can start to add up. What this doesn’t include is the cost of replacing the lights themselves. A cheaper bulb is only cost-effective if it doesn’t need to be replaced for the duration of a more expensive light lifespan.
You should also factor in the cost of the contractors needed to change the light. For every time an LED light reaches the end of its life, you need to pay for someone to install a new light. Lighting for commercial and public properties cannot be changed in the same way you would in your own home. You need a qualified technician to ensure the new light is properly fitted which comes with an invoice at the end.
Good quality LED lights have a guarantee of service and while the initial cost may be greater, in the long term it will save you money.
Replacing fittings
If your building is replacing older lights for new energy-saving LED lights, you are likely to need your fittings changing as well. Sometimes a quote can only refer to installing new LED lights into the existing fittings. Ensure that your quotes cover the replacement of any old fittings so that your LED lights do not burn out. LED lights placed in the wrong fittings are at risk of overheating and failing. Making sure your lights are installed correctly and snag tested is an important part of the professional lighting installation quote
Does quotes include disposal costs?
Quality of service
Getting the right contractors in the first place will give you the assurance your installation will be fit for purpose. Our specialist lighting installers understand that how the space is being used will determine the LED lights needed for the installation. Using a school installation as an example, the light needed for regular classrooms will be different for the light requirements in a woodwork room. The two rooms may be the same shape and size, even have the same amount of natural light but because they are used for different purposes, they have different lighting requirements.
The same is true for commercial buildings. Taking a business as a whole rather than looking just at the lighting installation is integral to providing a truly bespoke quote and good customer service. We know we do this well and have excellent feedback from our previous customers.
So, when you evaluate your lighting upgrade quotes it is best to ensure the whole job has been properly costed and the whole lifetime costs of the products chosen are transparent. Short-term savings often don’t weigh out the longer-term gains of quality LED lighting products.
