Are Light Bulbs Costing your Property WATTS of Money?

As a property manager, you already know the importance of keeping high traffic areas and hallways properly lit. You know how effective it is to Prevent Slips and Falls in Office Buildings as well as keep theft issues at a minimum. While that’s all relevant to managing a property, one thing you may be losing track of is how much energy and money you’re using to keep these lights running.

In a quickly changing environmental and economic world, each year more energy-efficient solutions are becoming available that not only save money, but help to preserve the environment as well. California, for example, currently leads the country in their fight for green energy solutions and standards. With our most recent office expansion happening in the San Francisco area, we are proud to be warmly welcomed by an area which shares the same green culture we do.  In regards to light bulb preferences for your property, your options come down to two types, CFL and LED. Each have distinct differences and benefits.

CFL

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) have lower up-front initial costs in terms of price per bulbs than LEDs. The downside is that CFLs contain mercury, a toxic metal, within them. Because of this, the cleanup of a broken bulb may be a huge hassle, especially considering that your residents can potentially get sick from the mercury. Also, the last thing any property manager wants is to have to hear complaints from tenants about CFLs exploding. The chances of these scenarios happening isn’t very high, luckily, and so CFLs are always a significant upgrade over the incandescent bulbs.

LED

Say hello to the new champion on the block though – the era of LED domination has finally come. LED light bulbs provide drastic energy efficiency savings when compared to CFL light bulbs. The standard operating voltage of a CFL light bulb is 50-60 watts. LEDs provide more vivid lighting, at only 10 watts. What this means is huge energy savings and money back into your pocket every month. Until very recently, most owners would opt to go with CFL lights, because of their inexpensive cost compared to LEDs. Now, however, LEDs have finally reached a competitive price point where the difference is now negligible. It’s a better long term savings with a lower upfront cost! If the average home owner reports hundreds of dollars in savings, just imagine how much a larger property will save.

Combine the energy savings with ZERO mercury, no potential for explosions (LEDs are coated with a layer of hard plastic encasing which prevents that) and a 10x longer lifespan than CFLs, and the answer is clear.Replacing your property light bulbs with LED lighting solutions is a bright move. It will save you tons of money on energy efficiency, maintenance costs, displeased tenant preferences, and not missed opportunities via potential future residents who fear poor lighting may be unsafe for them. Start your spring off right by saving watts of money on lighting.

This article was written by Joe Vitorino and edited by Justin LaRocque (Marketing Communications Manager) for Planned Companies, the industry leaders in janitorial, maintenance, concierge/front desk, and security services in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Catering to both residential and commercial properties, we proudly provide services throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC and San Francisco. For more information about our services, please visit our website at www.plannedcompanies.com or call us at 888-706-8600.