Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology has changed the lighting industry.  Consuming half the power of traditional fluorescent lights and offering increased controllability and flexibility, LEDs have become the standard for new building lighting design, but what about existing buildings?  Are they candidates for LEDs?

The major inhibitor of broad LED replacements has historically been the initial investment cost. This is one of the main reasons that energy companies offer energy rebates - to offset the higher cost of more energy efficient technology to create a more attractive payback.  MidAmerican Energy's Rebates for lighting in 2015 do just that - they supplement a large portion of the project cost, reducing the simple payback to as low as one year.  There is even a rebate for replacing your existing fluorescent tubes with an equivalent LED.  This can take as little as 15 minutes per fixture to replace all of the lamps and save half of your energy.

Baker Group recently worked with a large financial institution in the Des Moines area to replace 73,000 lamps across their portfolio of buildings.  This major replacement will save enough energy to power approximately 6,000 homes in Iowa for a year.  This project would not have been feasible without MidAmerican Energy's aggressive rebate program, which will cover about 2/3 of the total cost of the project, reducing the payback down to less than 5 years - half the duration of the LEDs' 10-year warranty.  These LED rebates are expected to be reduced in 2016, so if you have fluorescent lights in your building or simply have a goal of saving energy, changing your lights to LEDs before the end of 2015 would be a great way to move in the right direction.

You can find more information about MidAmerican's 2015 rebates here.  If you'd like Baker Group to help you come up with a lighting solution to help save you energy and money, give us a call at 1.855.262.4000.