While LED lighting systems do cost more than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, you may be able to save money through incentives. Some business or home owners are even eligible for free LED lighting, Find out about state, local, and federal programs that offer reduced cost or free LED lighting.
Check With Your Utility
For both business and residential customers, your electric company is the best place to start searching for deals on lighting. Some electric companies, such as Duke Energy — which serves Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Florida, offer free bulbs to their customers. Others offer reduced-cost LED lighting. For instance, Central Hudson offers $1 LED bulbs.
Utilities offer business customers incentives, too. Companies with outdated fixtures may be eligible for free or low-cost upgrades through their utility. This conserves power, which saves money. In California, PG&E offers rebates for businesses and consumers on light bulbs, fixtures, and other products. By replacing exterior lighting with LED products, California businesses can save as much as $200 per light fixture.
Customers of National Grid and Eversource, which serve Massachusetts and Rhode Island, may be eligible for rebates by switching overhead light fixtures to LED. The exact amount of the rebate varies by installed product; typical savings include a $25 midstream rebate for replacing a halogen lamp with an Energy Star LED one or $100 for replacing a stairwell light with an LED light.
To find out whether your utility offers rebate programs, visit their website or contact their customer service department. Do this before you make any planned improvements, since you may need to be pre-approved or programs may have a short window of time. Once you know what you’re eligible for, you can make the right decisions for your home or company.
Look for State Incentives
Look for state incentives for businesses or individuals in DSIRE, the Database of State Incentives for Renewals and Efficiency. DSIRE will let you look up local incentives, state programs, and federal programs as well as find loans or grants that let you make home improvements while conserving money.
You’ll find incentives for LED lighting, solar power, and other energy efficient upgrades. Typical incentives found in DSIRE include tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades, grant programs, cash back programs, and more. For instance, businesses that reduce their metering during peak loads can receive money back for doing so.
Businesses that want to make improvements but need financing to do so can search for state loan programs, which may offer more favorable terms that private financing. The state of Alabama, for instance, provides no-interest loans to schools and local governments that want to install more efficient lighting. No-interest loans are a great way to get access to the money you need to invest in full-scale lighting improvements and begin saving on energy bills right away. The money you save can then be used to pay down your loan.
Find Federal Programs
Commercial businesses that made certain energy efficient improvements could receive a tax deduction for these improvements, receiving as much as $1.80 per square foot. However, this deduction ended as of year-end 2016. Businesses that made qualifying energy-efficient improvements by or before end of year 2016 may still claim this deduction, but there are no federal deductions for lighting improvements made after January 1, 2017.
Likewise, there are no longer federal programs for free LED lighting for home owners; however, there have been federal incentives that allowed home owners to claim tax credits on lighting improvements. Such programs may be reinstated at a later point, so you can always check before you purchase new lighting.
Save on LED Lighting Systems
Knowing that you qualify for a rebate or incentive at the state or local level may make home improvements projects more affordable. If you’re ready to install an LED lighting system for your home or business, contact us now.