Did You Know?  75% of the U.S. is currently covered by an active commercial lighting rebate program, but certain states have shown more interest in rebates than others based on a measure of online rebate searches conducted by state in the past year. 

According to records compiled by BriteSwitch, a New Jersey-based company which specializes in the management and securing of rebates, tax incentives, and other financial rewards (primarily in the lighting arena) for commercial properties nationwide, the following 5 states topped the list when it came to rebate searches by customers:

• California – “California is the state where we’ve seen the most searches for rebates from among the thousands of requests we process, largely because it’s a progressive state that’s perceived to be very green,” said BriteSwitch President LeendertEnthoven.  “Interestingly, “California is well-known for encouraging energy efficiency through legislation (such as Title 24) and has the only rebate programs that calculate certain rebates based on ‘kilolumens,’ which might be a new term for people who aren’t familiar with that measure.”
• Pennsylvania – The Keystone State represents the second most rebate-searched state according to BriteSwitch’s files. “Every major utility in Pennsylvania offers a rebate program thanks to ‘PA Act 129 of 2008,’ though their structures often differ from one another,” Enthoven said.
• Texas – In this third most rebate-searched state, Enthoven said that programs range widely in format. “Most programs in Texas have different processes and dollar amounts depending on the business size, and several programs require customers to use a project ‘sponsor’ such as a participating contractor or distributor trained in the program,” he noted.
• New York – In New York, which has 7 large utilities and over 50 municipalities, “rebate program incentive levels are higher than the national average for most products and the state’s comprehensive programs cover most lighting technologies,” Enthoven said.
• Illinois – Enthoven noted that the largest utilities in Illinois feature everything from midstream and prescriptive to custom and direct sale rebate programs and that different programs may apply to different products. “For example, if a large office building is upgrading their lighting, they’d have to work through a participating distributor to get rebates for LED tubes and file for prescriptive rebates on downlights and troffers,” Enthoven shared.

Litetronics – Your Rebate Resource

Without a doubt, rebates help fuel lighting upgrade activity by offsetting project costs (sometimes by as much as 25% or more), increasing returns on investment, and reducing project payback periods. 

This is especially true in the case of Litetronics’ new LED Smart Volumetric Troffer, whose on-board sensor supports both motion sensing and daylight harvesting.  Thanks to its ability to automatically adjust light levels based on either occupancy levels and/or the availability of natural lighting, utility companies nationwide are rebating end users for their investment in this powerful and customizable fixture.

While the aforementioned five states garnered the most rebate searches in the past year, there’s a lot of rebate interest nationwide.  For more information on utility rebates that could be available to aid your lighting upgrade project, get in touch with your local rep or contact Litetronics Customer Service at (800) 860-3392 or customerservice@litetronics.com.