When the entire life cycle of a lighting installation is considered, it quickly becomes clear that investment in sustainable lighting pays dividends.
Lower electricity and maintenance costs make up for the outlay on modern lighting technology.
However, while the price of a new lighting installation is comparatively easy to establish, energy and maintenance costs are harder to gauge.
For a correct calculation, though, it is important to consider not just acquisition costs but also expenditures on electricity and maintenance.
In many cases, they account for more than three-quarters of total life cycle costs.
Take street lighting, for example: if obsolete street lights with mercury vapour lamps are replaced by modern LED technology for lowered night-time lighting, electricity costs fall by as much as 80 percent.