Three Ways to Renovate Your Commercial Property to Make It More Accessible

Owning or managing commercial real estate is a full-time job. There are a lot of different competing factors fighting for your time, effort, and money, especially if your industry has stiff competition. The best way to focus on your core business and services is to use third-party experts whenever possible. Having a professional inspector check your building for zoning violations and burgeoning failures is a perfect example. The inspector should check for ADA compliance, not just local regulations, and focus on these three key areas if the inspector doesn’t bring them up:

1. Are your entry and exit points up to par?

If potential customers can’t easily get into your place of business, you’re going to lose business. Even worse, someone may make a claim or suit against your business for discrimination and failure to comply with ADA building compliance. So ask about the sidewalk leading up to your front doors, any need for a ramp, and if the doors are accessible to all potential traffic. Depending on the building type and your area, you may also be responsible for the parking lot, the exits, and maintenance of universally accessible emergencies exits, even in shared areas between properties.

2. Do you have sufficiently wide walkways and restrooms?

Your hallways, spaces between permanent structures (like walls, bars, and tables), and doorways need to be sufficiently wide for patrons in wheelchairs. Your restrooms also need to be universally accessible and, if possible, have above the bare minimum of space. Making your building better than minimally compliant will be noticed by visitors with disabilities, and that’s good for business.

3. Is your electrical wiring right for the lights you have?

ADA compliance includes having sufficient lighting and signage for visitors with visual impairments. If you or your property manager were previously aware of this, you may have already updated the fixtures. But double-check that old wiring can handle more powerful lighting and greater numbers of electronic devices so that your building stays safe.

Good lighting makes it easier to navigate through your building. It makes it more inviting and reduces the risk of injuries. Contact us to discuss the lighting you need to make your store more accessible.

Benefits of Upgrading your Office Lighting

Updated lighting systems have become integral in making energy-efficient improvements to commercial buildings. In fact, research conducted by the US Small Business Administration showed that using light fixtures that are energy efficient is and should always be the first step in saving energy.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider upgrading your office or business’ lighting.

Energy saving

Retrofitting outdated lighting systems can help save on energy by reducing the lighting costs and energy consumption. Considering that lighting in commercial buildings accounts for up to 38 percent of energy output, upgrading your lighting can see you lower your electricity bills significantly while maintaining quality lighting.

What is more, upgraded lighting allows employees to control the lighting of their workspace, which further helps to save energy. In the end, you get to reduce the consumption of energy and other related costs.

Improved lighting quality

The quality of lighting for your office is paramount since it affects productivity and employee satisfaction. Upgraded lighting systems are designed to solve common lighting issues such as flickering and dimness. Moreover, they enhance reliability while providing better lighting options like improved color, less glare, and better lighting output.

Employee productivity and safety

An office that is either too bright or too dim will no doubt affect the morale and productivity of employees. In any case, people depend on lighting to work on their computers, operate machinery, and so forth. Therefore, if the quality of lighting is poor, it can be difficult for an individual to focus on a task, which can affect their productivity.

More importantly, workers do not have to risk their safety by walking on dimly lit walkways since the lighting is sufficient.

LEED green building certification

The US Green Building Council provides verification that a building attains the threshold in energy savings, water efficiency, environmental quality, and other metrics that aim at improving performance. This means that by upgrading your lighting systems, you stand to gain international recognition, which can work to market your business or services.

From the points mentioned above, it is clear that updating your lighting systems fully works to your benefit. Invest in your lighting today and see the difference.

At Relumination, we strive to help your business reduce energy costs, lower electricity expenses, and enjoy quality lighting by offering lighting system solutions and products. Contact us for more information on any lighting-related issues.

Making The Most Of Your Capital Budget

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Capital budgeting is the planning process used to determine whether an organization’s long term investments such as new machinery, replacement of machinery, new plants, new products, and research development projects are worth the funding of cash through the firm’s capitalization structure.

How To Prioritize Projects

Capital budgeting is a difficult task for any business. Prioritizing projects is challenging and an upgrade could benefit any part of a building structure.  If you own a large building, it’s crucial to have adequate lighting for the safety, aesthetic and efficiency of your building. When it comes to prioritizing your next upgrade consider lighting as one of your options.

When To Start Planning

Planning can start when you feel comfortable with your budget and have a good idea of what you want the results to be. Once you have selected an area you wish to upgrade you can set a price point, look at contractors and look at different materials needed for your project.

Evaluating Quotes

When evaluating quotes, keep in mind that these are just estimates and can be too low or too high. Be cautious of quotes that seem too high or too low. Saving money is always great, but cutting corners to save costs could result in fees to fix the mistakes later on. Have a good idea of what the price should be at so you don’t get overcharged.

Choosing The Right Contractor

When it comes to choosing a contractor, you want to make sure they have a good reputation and customer reviews. You want to select someone easy to communicate with and who is open with you throughout the process.  It’s also essential to choose a contractor who has expertise working in the area you are trying to upgrade.

Relumination is committed to reducing overhead costs, saving electricity, minimizing facilities management expenses, and helping decrease environmental footprints. Consider us for your next interior or exterior lighting upgrade. Contact us to start planning for next year’s budgets.

How to Overcome Your Leadership’s Objections to a Lighting Retrofit

Your facility’s need for a lighting retrofit is clear to you. Yet, your supervisor, the owner, or another leadership team member needs to be convinced it’s time to move forward. Objections to a commercial lighting retrofit frequently are based on misconceptions you can overcome with facts. Here are ways to advocate for your facility’s commercial lighting retrofit in the face of three common objections.

Objection: A lighting retrofit is costly. Our organization has other budget priorities.

Response: Many organizations realize a return on investment for their lighting retrofit in less than three years. Today’s highly energy-efficient lighting solutions decrease maintenance and energy costs. For example, an Oregon grocery distribution center saved $189,811 in annual energy costs and $47,000 in annual maintenance costs as a result of its lighting retrofit. Experienced lighting solution providers like Relumination offer free lighting consultations to determine the viability of a lighting upgrade.

Also, a lighting retrofit usually qualifies for significant utility company incentives. The professionals at Relumination know how to get the maximum utility rebate their clients are eligible for.

Objection: We did a lighting upgrade 12 years ago. We don’t need a lighting retrofit now.

Response: That upgrade was to T8 fluorescent lighting. Switching to energy-efficient LED lighting would reduce energy costs. Although we did see a measure of energy savings from going to T8 fluorescent lighting back then, a portion of those savings resulted from T8 fluorescent’s lower light levels. By choosing LED lighting, we could simultaneously increase light levels and lower costs.

Objection: There isn’t a business need for a lighting retrofit.

Response: Commercial lighting retrofits have benefits for all of our stakeholders. Since a retrofit can improve light levels, employees make fewer mistakes. In turn, quality control improves and the risk of injury decreases.

In addition, better lighting makes customers feel safer when they come to our facility. For management, the advantages of a commercial lighting retrofit are in the bottom line.

When you overcome your leadership’s objections to a commercial lighting retrofit, contact us at Relumination for a free lighting consultation.

IIoT Lighting for Commercial and Industrial Businesses

While most consumers remain focused on the IoT (Internet of Things), the IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things) continues to grow in the background. With recent developments in the digital, networking, and processing circles, the dream to have smart commercial facilities is now realizable. Intelligent lighting has emerged as the unsung hero of IIOT. Through integrated lighting systems through a network and sensors, smart lighting is quickly earning its preserve in commercial spaces.

IIOT lighting systems are proving a must-have for commercial and industrial spaces for a variety of reasons:

Benefits of IIOT Lighting

Using IIOT lighting, businesses are not only able to control lighting, but the system installed can also provide detailed energy-consumption reports. The reports are essential for companies looking to cut costs by saving energy.

By integrating sensors, the lighting system can detect occupancy and turn on the lights then turn them off when they are not in use. This is a critical measure that can save the business money in energy consumption and minimize running costs.

IIOT lighting also allows you to control the lighting in the entire facility from the palm of your hand. As a facility manager, you can manage all aspects of lighting inside the building using a laptop from across the world.

Using the dashboard connected to the primary device, you can also identify inefficiencies and anomalies in the facility that can help you improve business operations and productivity of employees.

Downsides of IIOT Lighting

There are downsides to everything – even with this revolutionary technology. Weighing both sides of the coin is essential in helping you make an informed decision.

The initial cost of setting up is the most intimidating factor for most facility managers. Even though the cost of setting up the lighting and networking might be significant, maintenance costs are minimal.

Once installed, smart lighting provides an immediate and quantifiable return with documented reports and improved energy consumption. Cumulatively, these savings justify the cost of transitioning into intelligent lighting for the facility and even earn the facility profits.

The Takeaway

The future of intelligent lighting is bright! At the moment, the main goal is to help to run a more energy-efficient facility and save costs. In the future, the technology could be used to raise security alerts, monitor productivity in the workplace, and even keep inventory fresh!

LED Reduces Environmental Impact and Overall Costs

As standards for energy efficiency increase around the country, commercial properties must find ways to decrease consumption. These rising standards are creating new challenges for owners and managers of commercial buildings. They are also providing a unique opportunity to lower long-term costs associated with energy consumption. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, lighting accounts for 17% of total energy usage in commercial properties. Recent progress in the development of LED lighting is set to lower that number significantly, and a breakdown of the science behind it shows how.

How LED Lights Work

An electric current is sent through a microchip which activates light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and visible light is created. Excess heat is drained into a heat sink within the unit to ensure its efficiency and longevity. LEDs emit directional light, which is focused only on spaces that require illumination.  Energy Star notes that this process is more efficient than competing methods of illumination like compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) since these send light and heat in every direction. The efficiency of LEDs isn’t limited to its creation of light, however.

Lifespan of LED

A notable benefit of this light technology is it’s extraordinarily long lifespan. Expertly engineered LED lights have the potential to last 8-10 times longer than fluorescent lighting of comparable brightness. For commercial properties, this corresponds to lower maintenance costs on replacement and greater overall efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy detailed the superiority of LED technology over CFL and incandescent in a study that examined the life cycle of these light sources. Not only are the two latter technologies unable to compete with the overall efficiency of LED, their environmental impact is also greater.

No two buildings are the same. To achieve maximum efficiency, commercial properties require individualized assessments to determine their lighting needs. Relumination specializes in energy-efficient lighting installations that will reduce overhead costs and decrease environmental impact. Please contact us for more information and to determine your next step towards a more efficient future for your building.

What to Consider When Comparing LED Products

A good LED system will last for years, deliver the right amount of light for the area and the people working in it, and will not generate unnecessary heat. A bad LED system will have a shorter effective working life, may not generate enough light for as long as expected, and may also cause other problems. So, knowing what to look for and how to spot a bad LED will pay dividends.

Warranty

LED lighting should last for many years. Most manufacturers offer a minimum 5-year warranty and many are beginning to offer a 10-year as the standard. Any fixture with less than a 5-year warranty suggests a higher potential for quality issues.

Illumination

Brightness is given in lumens, not wattage. Older technologies typically offer an omnidirectional output, while LED offers the ability to direct the light where it is needed using specially designed optics built into the fixture.

The LED Chip and Capacitor

The quality of the product depends to a critical extent on the chip. Traditionally, the best chips were manufactured in the USA and Japan, but now Korean and Chinese companies also make high quality chips. Chip quality depends on both the material used and its size. Smaller chips have a shorter life and provide less illumination. All LED fixtures will have a life expectancy, many quality manufacturers offer an L70 rating over 100,000 hours.

Color Temperature and Accuracy

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) is a gauge of how yellow (warm) or blue (cool) the color of light emitted from a light bulb appears. It’s measured in the Kelvin unit and is most commonly found between 2200 Kelvin degrees and 6500 Kelvin degrees. Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a measure of a light source’s ability to show object an object’s “truest” color. Simply put, the metric is a number between 0 and 100 that is used to predict how well a product renders color. The closer to 100, the better – or truer – colors should look under its light. Color accuracy matters in many manufacturing plants where detail is key.

Summary Point

LED lighting is essential for a safe and efficient work environment. Choosing and installing the right type of lighting for each area is essential for both worker efficiency and product life. There are countless online retailers and fly by night manufacturers that can offer an LED fixture, although quality manufacturers offer quality materials, heat sink technology and design to provide a long lasting, energy efficient product. Contact us, to discuss your needs.

How to Overcome Your Leadership’s Objections to a Lighting Retrofit

Your facility’s need for a lighting retrofit is clear to you. Yet, your supervisor, the owner, or another leadership team member needs to be convinced it’s time to move forward. Objections to a commercial lighting retrofit frequently are based on misconceptions you can overcome with facts. Here are ways to advocate for your facility’s commercial lighting retrofit in the face of three common objections.

Objection: A lighting retrofit is costly. Our organization has other budget priorities.

Response: Many organizations realize a return on investment for their lighting retrofit in less than three years. Today’s highly energy-efficient lighting solutions decrease maintenance and energy costs. For example, an Oregon grocery distribution center saved $189,811 in annual energy costs and $47,000 in annual maintenance costs as a result of its lighting retrofit. Experienced lighting solution providers like Relumination offer free lighting consultations to determine the viability of a lighting upgrade.

Also, a lighting retrofit usually qualifies for significant utility company incentives. The professionals at Relumination know how to get the maximum utility rebate their clients are eligible for.

Objection: We did a lighting upgrade 12 years ago. We don’t need a lighting retrofit now.

Response: That upgrade was to T8 fluorescent lighting. Switching to energy-efficient LED lighting would reduce energy costs. Although we did see a measure of energy savings from going to T8 fluorescent lighting back then, a portion of those savings resulted from T8 fluorescent’s lower light levels. By choosing LED lighting, we could simultaneously increase light levels and lower costs.

Objection: There isn’t a business need for a lighting retrofit.

Response: Commercial lighting retrofits have benefits for all of our stakeholders. Since a retrofit can improve light levels, employees make fewer mistakes. In turn, quality control improves and the risk of injury decreases.

In addition, better lighting makes customers feel safer when they come to our facility. For management, the advantages of a commercial lighting retrofit are in the bottom line.

When you overcome your leadership’s objections to a commercial lighting retrofit, contact us at Relumination for a free lighting consultation.

Best Practices for Hospitality Lighting

Hospitality lighting is meant to create a warm and inviting environment for your guests to enjoy, whether they are on a work trip or on vacation with family. You want your space to feel effortlessly designed, even after hours of planning the layout. In addition to overall lighting design, hotel and restaurant managers must also consider the costs and energy usage and how best to reduce their consumption.

Why Upgrade Hotel Lighting?

When considering upgrading the lighting in your hotel or restaurant, there are several factors that will influence the direction you choose to go.

  • Aesthetics: You can create a beautiful space through decorative sconces, cascading chandeliers, and impressive lamps.
  • Safety: Ensure your spaces are properly lit and include safety signs to direct guests where to go in case of an emergency.
  • Energy Savings: Use lower energy LED bulbs to save on energy costs and replace your bulbs less often.

Areas to Upgrade

The Lobby and Bar

In spaces like the lobby and bar, it is important to ensure both comfort and sense of safety in the space. You can accomplish this with the use of LED lights to create well lit spaces, then add light layering or unique pieces to add visual interest.

Hallways

Throughout your hotel, you will have numerous hallways guests will be roaming in order to find their rooms. It is your job to ensure the way it lit sufficiently so no one is struggling along the way. Consider installing attractive energy-efficient fixtures throughout your hallways that are lit 24/7.

Guest Rooms

Depending on the theme of your hotel, you may find you want to include lighting to evoke a certain mood in your guest rooms. Take special attention to the lighting layout of the room and give your guests the opportunity to control the ambience to a certain extent.

Choose Relumination for your Hotel Lighting Upgrades

Are you in need a lighting upgrade for your hotel? Now is a great time to get started. Contact the Relumination team today for a free estimate and more information on how to get started.

Business Tax Credits Available for Lighting Upgrades

Business Tax Credits for LED Lighting

Congress  has extended the Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction (Section 179D) tax credit originally included in the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPACT) and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. If you manage, own or lease a commercial or industrial building, and you pay taxes, you may be entitled to receive a tax credit per square foot of building for installing or upgrading your lighting to an energy efficient LED system. You are eligible to claim the deduction for new construction and energy-renovation projects. The deduction is available for different types of building use, including warehouses, industrial enterprises, office buildings, retail stores, and four-story+ apartment buildings.

Carry-Back and Carry-Forward

If you previously installed LED lighting up to three years ago, you may be entitled to carry back accrued tax deductions for two years or carry those credits forward for up to 20 years. There are some exceptions to this, so please consult with your tax attorney or CPA.

How to Qualify

To qualify for available tax credits, the Act says the lighting system improvements must be made to interior systems. There are different ways to calculate the tax credit.

  • If the LED lighting system is installed as part of a major project which includes HVAC and/or building envelope work, the then energy saving resulting from the project must equal 16.67% of the total savings.
  • If the lighting system improvements come under the Interim Lighting Rule, then lighting power density should be reduced by between 25% and 40%, or 50% for a warehouse.

Cost Savings

179D enables savings of up to 60 cents per square foot. This energy.gov site provides more detail. As we mentioned above, the energy savings must equal certain minimum levels, depending on which IRS notice applies, and the actual building use. The bottom line is that the tax savings – which can be carried back or forward – will have an impact on the cost of your renovation project.

Please click here to contact us to discuss how we may be able to assist with your energy savings plans to install or improve your LED lighting system. We are here to answer your questions. We are not tax experts, so please consult your tax attorney or CPA for specific tax advice.