LEDlight tubes - Example Scenario

The Real Cost of Fluorescents
Many people may not realise how much electricity their existing fluorescent lights are consuming, or even how many tubes are in their workplace. So you may be surprised how replacing even a small quantity of fluorescents can make a big difference.

Each (typical) fluorescent tube uses around 36W of electricity which is bad enough but what a lot of people don't know is that fluorescent tubes also require a "ballast" which uses up to an additional 12W of electricity, making a total consumption of around 46W.

Multiply that by the number of tubes in your workplace and you'll have the total watts per hour you're burning in electricity to power your lights. It may not seem like much but then consider how many hours per day you run your lights and how many days per week and so on. It soon starts to add up.

Now consider reducing that figure by around two thirds.

Capital Expense Scenario
Consider the chart below which shows a real-world example based on a bakery that operates its lights an average of 17 hours each day.

The chart models power costs for both LED and fluorescent tubes and the net position of the business over 10 years - including an indicative initial cost to upgrade to LEDlight tubes.

The figures speak for themselves - the initial upgrade costs are rapidly overtaken by the ongoing running costs of the fluorescent tubes. This business saves almost $700 per year in electricity costs - representing a return on investment of about 40% - and recovers the upgrade costs after only 2.5 years.

And this is a very small scale example based on just 18 tubes.

Further Savings
What's more, these figures don't include further annual savings on maintenance costs. In the scenario shown, the expected lifespan for fluorescent tubes is at most 3-4 years while LEDlight tubes last at least 8 years. So for the 8 year life of the LEDlights this business would have replaced all of its fluorescent tubes at least 2 times (not to mention replacing starters).

Consider the additional cost of the correct disposal of the fluorescent tubes, replacement units and labour to replace all the lights 2-3 times over.

Operating Expense Scenario
An alternative scenario that shows how your lights can be upgraded while your business enjoys increased profits immediately is shown below. This example is the same as the one above except that the upgrade costs are financed (at 8.5%) and fully funded by the energy savings.

In this scenario the business has no out of pocket expenses and still increases profits by more than $200 per year.

The chart shows the LEDlight operating expense tracking very closely with the fluorescent costs while the finance costs are being paid over the first 5 years then as the costs drop off the LEDlight costs flatten out dramatically.

Cost Recovery
The following chart offers a guide to cost recovery (assuming you opt for an up-front capital expense over a financed option). The chart is based on daily consumption using our LEDlight tubes. The charts show that - as you'd expect - the higher your daily usage, the shorter the cost recovery period.

For businesses such as car parks, supermarkets, hospitals and our bakery example; long hours of operation mean very high energy costs hence cutting them by 65% or so represents huge savings and therefore a shorter cost recovery period. Businesses only using their lights for 10 hours per day have a longer cost recovery but they also take several more years to reach their nominal lifespan of 50,000 hours.

Note that the actual cost recovery period will depend upon your energy costs.

600mm tube example (assuming operation 7 days per week)

1200mm tube example (assuming operation 7 days per week)



Please note that we're always happy to come to your workplace and prepare a report outlining your current lighting costs and the potential savings and cost recovery for your unique situation, see our services for more information.