Proof, shop and fabrication work
Example buildings, real fixture counts, real prices
Two example buildings, drawn at the fixture count I quote
104 fixtures, an example Edmonton shop
94 fixtures, an example dealership showroom
Every square is one fixture. Example buildings at the counts and prices I actually quote, not round numbers.
The 104 fixture shop, all four prices and the one I would pick
Shops, fabrication and machining, shot on the day
Swipe. Shop and fabrication work first. Same crew on the rest.
Dmitry Naboka, Master Electrician #13824, 14 years in the trade. Co owner Kyle V., Journeyman. Five person crew, no subcontractors. Raydn Renewables has been trading since August 2025.
Who is actually on your roof and in your ceiling5.0 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.
Swipe sideways for 1 more →
Shops, fabrication and manufacturing
In a shop, the reason to do this is not the power bill. It is being able to see what you are working on.
The savings are real and they are not the point. Here is a real before number off a faded metal halide shop:
Green band: IES 50 to 100 fc, medium bench
A shop at 12 foot candles is a quality problem and a safety problem before it is an energy problem. Band per the IES footcandle recommendations, machine shops, medium bench.
I meter the before number on every job so the after number means something. Dmitry Naboka, Master Electrician #13824, 14 years in the trade.
That parkade measured 76 percent off the reduced load. Your shop is not a parkade, but the principle holds. Light you are not standing under is light you are not paying for.
PNNL-21923 lighting control field studyQuoted per job.
What it costs
The band, and the permit at cost
What the low bid leaves out on a shop
Five things that are true, cost you money, and are missing from almost every shop lighting quote
There is no LED rebate in Alberta right now
Energy Efficiency Alberta was wound up in 2020. The Emissions Reduction Alberta Energy Savings for Business program is closed and fully allocated. SEMI is industrial only. If a competitor payback calculation has a rebate line in it, that payback is made up. My calculator has no rebate field, and that is deliberate.
ERA Energy Savings for Business program overviewERA Energy Savings for Business FAQEnergyRates.ca on the wound up Alberta business programThe write off is real, though
Commercial lighting normally lands in capital cost allowance Class 8 at 20 percent declining balance, and Class 8 qualifies for the accelerated first year allowance through 2027. Talk to your accountant about that, not to me. I am an electrician.
CRA capital cost allowance classesThe 347 volt trap, and why the cheap swap stops being cheap
Alberta STANDATA 24-ECB-030 says a luminaire with double ended lamps on a ballast rated over 150 volts to ground, disconnected and reconnected, counts as a new luminaire and needs disconnecting means. It extends that to energy conservation retrofits. Most Alberta warehouses and commercial buildings are 347 volt. So the cheap ballast bypass lands inside that sentence. A new fixture with no double ended lamps does not.
Alberta STANDATA 24-ECB-030Field modifying a certified fixture voids its certification
A proper retrofit uses a certified retrofit product and a new label on every single fixture, per CSA C22.2 No. 250.1, and the retrofit kit has to be certified for the fixture it goes into per STANDATA 24-ECB-002. I price the label. Most low bids do not, and the building owner inherits that at insurance or resale time.
CSA C22.2 No. 250.1Alberta STANDATA 24-ECB-002I will not publish a T5HO wattage I have not confirmed
I have not verified 60 to 65 W a lamp against a primary table, so the calculator flags T5HO as unverified instead of guessing. It gets metered on the walkdown and quoted per job. I would rather tell you that than publish a number I cannot stand behind.
Straight answers
What I get asked in shops and fabrication bays
Why does my shop get dim in the winter?
If the bay is unheated or has a door that opens all day, open fluorescent fixtures lose a large share of their output near minus 10 C. That is not the tubes wearing out, it is how fluorescent works. LED runs slightly more efficiently cold.
Is flicker actually a safety issue?
Under rotating machinery, yes. A strobing source can make a moving part appear stationary. That is one of the few lighting arguments I make that has nothing to do with the power bill.
What light level should a machine shop have?
It depends on the task, and IES publishes recommended levels by space and task type. A general shop floor and a machining bench are different targets. I meter what you have before I touch anything, then quote to the target for the work you actually do.
Can you do it without shutting the shop down?
Yes, zone by zone. A 100 fixture indoor retrofit is normally two to four days with the five person crew, worked around your operation.
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 the fixtures
- 2
I meter one
- 3
I meter the light level at the bench and on the floor
- 4
I put a tape on the ceiling
- 5
I confirm your supply voltage before I show up
The before reading is the whole point, because it is what makes the after number mean something.
Booked. I have your number.
I will call you within 24 hours to set the time. If you want it sooner, call or text me at (780) 904-3462.
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.
Dmitry Naboka, Master Electrician #13824, 14 years in the trade