This evolution doesn’t mean the sales job for contractors pursuing LED projects suddenly has become easy. First, cost remains a significant differentiator between, say, possible compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) options and LED counterparts. But the combined advantages of life cycles stretching half a decade or more in heavy-use settings, along with the lack of CFL-related mercury concerns, are strong arguments for clients willing to look beyond initial purchase prices.
Consider retail applications, take for example, a 65-watt (W) PAR 38 halogen lamp, with a 2,000-hour rating. The likely 17W LED spotlight has a 40,000-hour-rated life. The cost difference—$4 to $6 for the halogen versus $70 for the LED—could be offputting. However, the 48W difference in demand at $0.10 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) could, itself, lead to a payback of two years or less, he said. Plus, the halogen units would need to be replaced 20 times before the LED units begin to fail.
“Right now, LED lamps are several orders more expensive than any existing technology,” Willmorth said. However, he said, when you factor in the maintenance savings accrued through avoided replacement projects, parity is within reach.
That reach may be easier depending on regional electricity rates, said Eric Marsh, senior marketing manager for Philips’ contractor-directed EnduraLED line of replacement lamps. However, reduced maintenance may be the biggest differentiator.
“In most instances, the math works, because the lifespan is so much longer,” Marsh said.
LEDs also may be taking a lead in hotel ballroom chandelier, which may have dozens—or more—individual candle-style lamps. Currently, maintenance staff may be spending time every week replacing existing incandescents. Invest in LED candle light, he said, and that upkeep is reduced significantly. You’re now only going to have to change it every three to five years.
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