The better your contractor communicates their knowledge of the project, the easier it makes your job of selection. The key to the process is having all current lighting systems documented properly and having the appropriate upgrades contained in one document/proposal. The proposal helps move all future steps forward. Here are some challenges we have discovered that our partners have experienced, before working with RTS.
Lack of detail.
You need complete information to make an informed decision.
Inaccurate hours of operation.
This shows poor documentation, possibly because of insufficient sampling sizes, and that leads to inaccurate savings.
Misidentification of the existing systems.
The measurement and verification of the existing lighting system has not been performed accurately.
Inability to view options and see breakdowns by various criteria.
This can lead to an incomplete upgrade or potentially missed opportunities.
A proper lighting proposal should include everything necessary to make an informed decision. At a minimum, it should include every light fixture, kW savings, kWh savings, cost, payback information, ten-year cash flow, IRR (internal rate of return), NPV (net present value), operational savings, environmental impacts, disposal information, and more.
A variety of factors should be taken into consideration when proposing upgrades, especially when it comes to auditing the lighting needs of each facility. Key factors include the age of the building, the age of the light fixtures, the utility rate structure, and the light level requirements. Some customers are payback driven while others are cost driven. The goal is to develop a proposal by working with each customer individually in order to develop a lighting upgrade that matches their needs.
