If your business in Hamilton, Burlington, Stoney Creek, Oakville, or anywhere else in the Golden Horseshoe is still running T8 or T12 fluorescent tubes, metal halide high-bay, or HPS exterior lighting, a commercial LED lighting retrofit is the rare capital project where the math is unambiguous. Energy use drops 50-70%, maintenance drops by an order of magnitude, and the payback in most cases is under 30 months. Here is how that math works in practice.
Where the savings actually come from
Three places, in descending order of impact:
- Energy. A 4-lamp T8 fluorescent fixture draws about 112 watts including ballast losses. The LED equivalent (4-lamp tubes or a flat panel) draws 35-45 watts. Over a 10-hour-a-day operating profile, the saving is roughly 250 kWh per fixture per year - meaningful annual energy reduction at current Ontario rates, especially across larger fixture counts.
- Maintenance. Fluorescent tubes last 10,000-20,000 hours typically. LED tubes and panels are rated 50,000-100,000 hours. For a 24/7 facility that is the difference between re-lamping every 2 years and re-lamping never. For a high-bay warehouse where re-lamping requires a lift truck, the saved maintenance dollars often exceed the energy savings.
- HVAC load. Lighting heat that A/C has to remove. Cutting lighting power in half cuts the cooling load from lighting in half too. Modest but real, particularly in summer-conditioned spaces.
Real examples from our work
Hamilton manufacturing facility, 80,000 sq ft. 120 metal-halide high-bay fixtures at 400W each, plus ballast = ~55 kW lighting load running 16 hours a day. LED high-bay replacement at 150W per fixture = ~18 kW. Operating hours of that scale plus avoided lift-truck re-lamping drove a payback inside three years on the energy line alone.
Burlington office, 12,000 sq ft. 180 4-lamp T8 fluorescent fixtures running 10 hours a day. LED flat-panel replacement. Payback ran longer than the industrial case because office hours are shorter — the ROI math is leveraged by operating hours. We model both for each site so you see the honest payback before signing off.
Stoney Creek restaurant, 4,500 sq ft. Mixed lighting types - T8 in back-of-house, halogen track in dining, HPS in parking. LED throughout. The avoided halogen track re-lamping (an actual operational headache) was almost as material as the energy line on this one.
The three retrofit approaches
- Direct-fit LED tubes in existing fluorescent fixtures. Cheapest. Works if the existing fixtures and ballasts are recent and in good condition. Compatibility is the catch - not every LED tube works with every ballast. We do the compatibility check before quoting.
- Retrofit kits that replace the lamps and the internals while keeping the existing housing. Mid-cost. Better light output and longer life than direct-fit. Works for older fixtures where the housing is salvageable but the internals are not.
- Full fixture replacement. Most expensive up-front, best long-term outcome. Modern flat panels and high-bays are dramatically more efficient than retrofit kits in old housings, and the labour to install a new fixture is similar to the labour to retrofit one. For high-volume installs the per-fixture cost gap is smaller than you would expect.
Lighting controls - where the additional 30% savings live
A bare-bones LED retrofit captures the obvious wattage savings. Adding lighting controls captures the additional savings from turning off the lighting when it is not needed.
- Occupancy sensors on offices, washrooms, and storage rooms. 20-40% additional savings on those spaces.
- Daylight harvesting on perimeter zones with windows. Dim the LEDs when daylight is sufficient. 15-30% additional savings on perimeter zones.
- Time-of-day scheduling for exterior and parking-lot lighting. Reduce output during off-hours; full output for actual operating windows.
- Networked controls (DALI, 0-10V, Lutron Quantum, etc.) for larger sites. Building-wide schedules, individual zone overrides, energy reporting.
Rebates and incentives
The Save on Energy program (administered by the IESO and your local utility) offers commercial LED retrofit incentives that change every year. As of writing, Save on Energy provides per-fixture incentives for qualifying retrofits and prescriptive rebates for controls. The math is good - typical incentives cover 15-30% of project cost - but we do not include rebate assumptions in our quoted price because the programs change. We will tell you what is currently available and help you apply at quote time.
What the quote should spell out
- Existing fixture count, type, and wattage
- Replacement fixture model, wattage, colour temperature, CRI
- Energy savings calculation with kWh/year and dollar value
- Project cost itemized by fixtures, controls, labour, ESA permit
- Estimated payback period at current rates
- Warranty terms on fixtures (5 years is the minimum we accept; 10 is preferred)
When to call us
We do commercial LED retrofits across Hamilton, Burlington, Waterdown, Oakville, Stoney Creek, and the surrounding area, scheduled around your operating hours so we do not disrupt the business. Larger sites often pair with our controls and daylight-harvesting work for the additional 30% of savings. Request a site walk and we will document your current lighting, run the energy and payback math, and quote in writing.