Everyone focuses on the energy savings when evaluating LED retrofits. That makes sense — 40-70% energy reduction (DOE data) is a big number. But the maintenance savings are often bigger, and almost always overlooked.
Legacy vs LED maintenance cost
| Metric | Legacy HID | LED |
|---|---|---|
| Per fixture/yr | ~$17 (based on project data) | Under $1 (based on project data) |
| Reduction | — | 97% |
| Lamp life | 10-20K hrs (2-3 yr replacement) | 50,000+ hrs (10-15 yrs) |
| Emergency call cost | $250-$1,000 per truck roll | Near zero |
The approximately $17 per fixture includes labor, materials, equipment rental, and the opportunity cost of managing the failures.
The hidden costs people miss
Bucket truck rental: $300-$700 per day. For a 200-fixture parking lot, that is 2-3 days of truck rental per year just for re-lamping.
Emergency premiums: After-hours calls run 1.5-2x standard labor rates. A single pole light outage on a Friday night costs $500-$1,000 by Monday.
Reactive vs preventive: Reactive maintenance costs 25-30% more than preventive programs (JLL study). But with HID, you are always reactive — lamps fail randomly.
The true truck roll cost includes:
- Technician labor (2-4 hours)
- Vehicle and fuel
- Insurance overhead
- Equipment rental
- Parts/materials
- Scheduling and coordination
- Total: $250-$1,000 per visit
See what your building could save
Free site assessment. No obligation. Real numbers from your actual fixtures.
Request Free AssessmentWhat this means for a typical project
For a 300-fixture exterior LED retrofit:
| Metric | Annual Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy savings | $25,000 |
| Maintenance savings | $5,000 (based on project data) |
| Total savings | $30,000 |
The maintenance component is 17% of total savings — and it is the most reliable number in the calculation because it eliminates an entire cost category rather than reducing one.
Why operations teams love LED
The maintenance reduction is what facility managers care about most. No more:
- Emergency service calls
- Lamp inventory management
- Bucket truck scheduling
- Tenant complaints about dark areas
- Liability exposure from failed fixtures
After an LED retrofit, lighting moves from a constant operational headache to a set-and-forget system. That is worth more than the dollar amount suggests.
If you want to see the full savings picture for your facility — energy plus maintenance — our free site assessment starts with a full audit of both cost categories.
Related services: commercial LED retrofit and commercial electrical maintenance.