I am still seeing mercury vapor lighting being installed at residences and developments in the area. I really don’t know how these installation companies are doing this since mercury vapor lighting has been outlawed in the U.S. for a few years now. We can no longer get the ballasts for these lights (through legal means) and lamps are getting harder and harder to find. They’re also getting to be very expensive.
What really bothers me is that the ones paying for this lighting now are not only paying a lot for the system, they are also going to pay more every month in energy use. They’ll end up spending even more later to maintain the system as lamps go out and then, if a ballast goes bad, how are they going to replace that? They’ll end up having to trash the whole thing and start over.
Why not design and install an energy efficient LED system that will use a lot less energy and be pretty much maintenance free for many years? Why not look out for the best interest of the client?
Others in my industry ask me things like “why are you installing LED? What about your maintenance end of the business?” I tell them that if I look out for my clients they will send me far more business than what I could generate in maintenance anyway. It also makes us feel better about the projects that we do, knowing that we are doing what is best for our clients and the environment.
Some of our friends in Florida made this video about the installation of LED lighting at a development that explains a little about how much money this place will save every year by installing LED lighting instead of other energy hog types of lighting.
Don’t spend too much for lighting. You may save a few dollars up front when installing other types of lighting, but you’ll spend a LOT more as the years go by.
