LED worked example, Edmonton shop

104 Fixtures, 20.0 kW Down to 6.2 kW

Take a shop in Edmonton. 104 four lamp T12 fixtures sitting on magnetic ballasts, which puts the connected lighting load at 20.0 kW. This one is a worked example, not a job I am claiming. The fixture type, the wattages and all four option prices are the real numbers I quote from, and here they all are, including the one I would pick.

5.0 · 70 five-star Google reviews

Honest quote in 24 hours (780) 904-3462

LED high bay lighting over a CNC machining shop in Alberta

The walkdown

104 Four Lamp T12 Fixtures on Magnetic Ballasts

On your building I count every fixture myself, then meter the connected lighting load instead of adding up nameplates. That reading is the only reason an after number means anything. This example is built on that same method.

104Fixtures, countedFour lamp T12, every one of them on a magnetic ballast. On your shop I count them, I do not estimate off a floor plan.

192 WA fixture, measuredOnce you include what the magnetic ballast draws on top of the four lamps. Nameplate would have told you less.

20.0 kWConnected lighting load104 fixtures at about 192 W on that fixture type. This is the number every option below is measured against.

$14,600A year in lightingAbout 73,000 kWh at 3,650 run hours and roughly 20 cents a kWh delivered, which is where a lot of Edmonton commercial rates land.

The part nobody quotes

Magnetic ballasts fail on their own schedule. That never shows up on a power bill. It shows up as a man on a ladder, and it is the line most lighting quotes leave out entirely.

5.0 on Google · 70 verified reviews

What business customers say

Nobody has left us a review on a lighting retrofit yet, so I am not going to show you one. These two are real, from a business customer and a repeat electrical customer.

★★★★★

“Raydn Renewables is an amazing company. Their attitude and attention to detail as well as their quality of service stands out above every electrical and solar company we've worked with in the entire Alberta area. It's been a pleasure working with Raydn for their professionalism, organization and politeness. Look forward to working with them soon again in the future.”

Balance Roofing · Verified Google review

★★★★★

“I highly recommend this electrical company! I've used them for a couple of jobs around my home, including repairing my kitchen lights and fixing a wall outlet that had stopped working. The service was professional, reliable, and completed to a high standard. Communication was excellent throughout the process, and the work was done efficiently and with great attention to detail. It's clear they take pride in their craftsmanship and customer service. If you're looking for an electrician you can trust, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.”

3signers · Verified Google review

Swipe sideways for 1 more →

Read all 70 reviews →

What I quoted him

Four Options on One Page, $11,443 to $26,242

I do not hand a shop one number. Four ways to do the same 104 openings, with the load after each one and what each one saves, so you can work out for yourself whether the cheap option is actually cheap.

Option 1. LED tube on the existing ballast$9,271saved a year, a 63 percent cut

Load after: 7.3 kW
Per fixture: $105 to $135
Bill a year: about $5,329

The ballast stays in and keeps drawing. It is also still the part most likely to fail.

Option 2. LED tube, ballast removedThe one I would pick$10,074saved a year, a 69 percent cut

Load after: 6.2 kW
Per fixture: $179 to $215
Bill a year: about $4,526

More labour up front. Nothing left in the fixture to fail.

Option 3. New fixture, one for one$10,804saved a year, a 74 percent cut

Load after: 5.2 kW
Per fixture: $241 to $275
Bill a year: about $3,796

Best light and the biggest cut. Costs the most, and the old fixtures go in the bin.

Option 4. Fewer high bays, 40 of them$10,220saved a year, a 70 percent cut

Load after: 6.0 kW
Per fixture: $490 to $540
Bill a year: about $4,380

Only works with the ceiling height for it. On a low ceiling it makes the light worse.

Before was 20.0 kW metered, so 73,000 kWh and about $14,600 a year. Every after figure is that option’s load times 3,650 hours times 20 cents a kWh delivered. Per fixture prices are installed, all in. Across the four options the quote spans $11,443 to $26,242.

The cheapest option pays back fastest, and I still did not recommend it

Option one pays for itself in about a year and a half on paper. Whether that is smart depends entirely on one thing:

Selling in two years

Option one is a fair trade

Fastest payback on paper
The old ballast becomes the next owner's problem

Keeping the building

Pay for ballast out now

The ballast is still drawing
It is the part most likely to fail
Otherwise you pay me now and pay me again later

Same building, same quote, two different right answers. That is why I ask which one you are before I recommend anything.

Keeping the building means option two. Ballast out, nothing left in the fixture to fail, and 69 percent off the lighting load. Showing you all four is the only way you can see that for yourself.

Dmitry Naboka, Master Electrician #13824, 14 years in the trade

Metered, before and after

What Changes on a 104 Fixture Shop

Option two, the one I would pick. Same 104 openings, same ceiling, same aisles.

Watts a fixture, drawn to scale

T12, four lamp, magnetic ballast192 W

LED tube, ballast removed60 W

The example shop before and after option two
	T12 on magnetics	LED tube, ballast out
Fixtures	104	104
Watts a fixture	about 192 W	60 W
Connected lighting load	20.0 kW	6.2 kW
Run hours a year	3,650	3,650
Power a year	73,000 kWh	22,630 kWh
Lighting cost a year	about $14,600	about $4,526
Saved every year	about $10,074, a 69 percent cut

Where every number above came from:

20.0 kW and 6.2 kW: loads, metered and specified

192 W a fixture: that 20.0 kW across 104 fixtures

The dollars: 3,650 hours at 20 cents a kWh delivered

Not counted: brighter light, service calls you stop paying for

Yours will not be identical, and this one is an example, which is exactly why I meter your shop before I price it. I have not tried to put a dollar figure on the last one.

The rest of it

What the Power Bill Does Not Show

50,000 hNothing left to failThe ballast came out. What is left is a 15 W lamp rated to 50,000 hours at L70. No ballast to hum, no ballast to replace, no ladder trip that only half fixes it.

-40CInstant on, coldFluorescent goes dim and slow in an unheated Alberta shop. These come on at full output the moment the switch closes, in January, at the far end of the building.

20%The only real tax angleNobody gets a grant on this work. What is real is the capital cost allowance, Class 8 at 20 percent declining balance, and your accountant claims that, not me.CRA capital cost allowance classes

$1.00A tube, hauled awayFluorescent tubes are not garbage. They go to the Edmonton Eco Station at a dollar a tube. That cost is inside the price you already saw, not added after.Edmonton Eco Station accepted items and fees

There is no rebate on this work, and there is none on yours

Energy Efficiency Alberta was wound up in 2020. The Emissions Reduction Alberta Energy Savings for Business money is closed and fully allocated. SEMI is industrial only. If a payback number you are looking at has a rebate line in it, that payback is made up.

ERA Energy Savings for Business program overview

How the job runs

One Walkdown, One Master Electrician

About an hour on site, and it all happens before you see a single price.

I count the fixtures myself

All of them, by hand, noting the lamp type and the ballast on each run. A fixture count off a floor plan is a guess, and a guess is how a quote turns into a change order.

I meter the load and read the light

Connected lighting load on a meter, not a nameplate total. Light level at the bench and on the floor, ceiling height on a tape, supply voltage confirmed. That before reading is what makes an after number honest.

Then you get four prices, not one

Same 104 openings, four ways to do it, with the load and the payback beside each. I tell you which one I would not do, and why.

My crew does the work and pulls the permit

Five person crew, no subcontractors. Old tubes and ballasts leave with us. My name is on the permit, which is the reason I will not sell an option I would have to come back and fix.

We are a young company. That is exactly why my name is on the permit for every one of these, not the excuse for anything.

Who is actually in your ceiling

Straight answers

What Shop Owners Ask Me About This Job

How did you get 20.0 kW?

I metered the connected lighting load instead of adding up nameplates. 104 four lamp T12 fixtures on magnetic ballasts came out at about 192 W each, and that includes what the ballast draws on top of the four lamps.

Why not the cheapest option?

Option one leaves the magnetic ballast in the fixture. It still draws power and it is still the part most likely to fail. It pays back fastest on paper and it is the wrong answer on a building you are keeping.

Will my shop save the same $10,074?

Almost certainly not. That number comes from 104 fixtures, 3,650 run hours and a rate near 20 cents a kWh delivered. Change any one of those and the answer moves, which is why I meter your shop before I quote it.

Is there a rebate on this work?

No. Energy Efficiency Alberta wound up in 2020 and the ERA Energy Savings for Business money is fully allocated. SEMI is industrial only. The capital cost allowance is real, Class 8 at 20 percent declining balance, and your accountant claims it.

ERA Energy Savings for Business program overview

What happened to the old tubes and ballasts?

They leave on my truck. Tubes go to the Edmonton Eco Station at a dollar a tube, and pre 1980 ballasts get handled as PCB waste. That cost is inside the price you already saw.

Edmonton Eco Station accepted items and fees Environment and Climate Change Canada, PCB rules

Who does the install?

My own five person crew. No subcontractors. I pull the permit and my name is on it.

Next step

Book the walkdown

Free. About an hour.You get a written scope with the option prices side by side.

What I measure while I am there

1
I count your fixtures
2
I meter the load you have now
3
I hand you the options side by side with what each one saves

No pressure, and no rebate that does not exist.

Run the calculator Call a Master Electrician Honest quote in 24 hours

I do the walkdown myself. I meter a fixture, count what is actually up there, read your municipal lighting bylaw before I show up, and hand you a written scope with the option prices side by side. No pressure, and no rebate that does not exist.