PSA: Commercial LED lighting rebates to end—act now for increased incentives
WINOOSKI, VT
Last call for LED lighting rebates for agricultural operations or commercial and industrial facilities as incentives sunset
WINOOSKI, VT—It’ll soon be “lights out” on lighting rebates for Vermont businesses and nonprofits that have yet to switch to energy-saving LED lamps and bulbs. But farms, businesses, and nonprofits that act fast can still take advantage of increased incentives from Efficiency Vermont before rebates end.
For a limited time, Efficiency Vermont is offering increased incentives for pre-approved commercial lighting projects. These offers are designed to be flexible for a dynamic pricing landscape and changing costs. Projects must be planned and approved before final rebate amounts can be determined.
“Changing out old, energy-intensive lighting for low-power and long-lasting LEDs is one of the most cost-effective ways businesses can reduce their energy bills,” said Colin Santee, Efficiency Vermont’s commercial lighting program manager. “One small Vermont business that replaced 300 fluorescent lamps with LEDs saw a 50% reduction in their lighting energy costs, saving over $4,000 annually. Plus, updating to LEDs is a great time to add smart controls to optimize systems and reduce costs.”
Interested businesses should schedule an energy consultation with Efficiency Vermont’s account managers as soon as possible. They can also take advantage of limited-time custom lighting offers:
- TLED Lighting: Replace linear fluorescent bulbs with tubular LEDs (TLEDs). Existing fluorescent light fixtures can be retrofit to use energy-saving and cost-effective TLED lamps.
- Incentive covers 100% of product costs for qualifying TLEDs.
- Minimum quantity of 250 lamps.
- This incentive does NOT cover labor costs, ballast replacement, wiring, sales tax, or disposal fees.
- Agricultural lighting: Upgrade to LEDs in livestock or sugaring facilities. LEDs can boost productivity, safety, and comfort in operations like horse arenas, farmyards, sugar houses, dairy barns, processing/sorting rooms, milking parlors, and egg-packing rooms.
- Incentive covers 100% of project costs (including labor), up to $250 per qualifying fixture.
- Qualifying lighting fixtures must be 8,001 lumens or brighter.
- Horticultural lighting projects are NOT eligible for this offer (but these projects can use Efficiency Vermont’s rebate for LEDs for indoor growing).
All custom commercial lighting incentives require pre-approval from Efficiency Vermont and a signed Incentive Agreement. Eligible fixtures must comply with DLC v5.1 standards. Custom lighting incentives can be combined with additional rebates for agricultural equipment or other commercial incentives. Eligible nonprofits can combine custom lighting projects with Efficiency Vermont’s enhanced rebates for nonprofits.
LED lighting in commercial operations offers additional benefits beyond lower electricity bills, including:
- Controllability: Commercial LED lighting offers increased control functionality, including auto-daylight and occupancy sensors, to maximize energy savings and user benefits.
- Dimmable: Virtually all eligible TLED lamps that follow industry requirements are dimmable, meaning more versatility, increased energy savings, and improved satisfaction.
- Color quality: LEDs following the latest industry requirements provide improved color performance, reduced glare, and better distribution—resulting in overall better, clearer lighting.
- Longevity: According to the Department of Energy, LED lamps can operate for up to 50,000 hours, compared to linear fluorescent lamps that last around 30,000 hours.
Commercial lighting incentives are ending after more than 20 years of work from Efficiency Vermont and other partners to achieve market transformation in the lighting sector. Outreach to customers, partnerships with retailers and suppliers, and collaboration with regional partners all helped LED technology mature and markets evolve. The end of commercial lighting rebates comes after residential lighting rebates started winding down in 2023. By 2024, strong federal and state efficiency standards and laws meant rebates were no longer necessary to help customers make the most energy efficient choice. Today, over two decades of Efficiency Vermont’s lighting incentives have helped most Vermonters adopt LEDs, transforming the market and making LEDs a default option.
About Efficiency Vermont
As the nation's first Energy Efficiency Utility, Efficiency Vermont has helped Vermont save more than $3.3 billion in lifetime savings and avoid over 14.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2000. Operated by clean energy nonprofit VEIC, Efficiency Vermont has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® program Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence award over eight consecutive years. Efficiency Vermont works with partners to help our state transition to more affordable, low-carbon energy use through education, incentives, and support for our clean energy workforce. Learn more at www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Efficiency Vermont Press Contact
Matthew Smith
Phone: (802) 540-7662
[email protected]