After-hours LED retrofit for a three-level office
A three-level office near the Southport CBD still running twin fluorescent troffers that flickered, hummed and kept the air conditioning working overtime. We replaced every fitting with LED panels across four nights, so the tenants never lost a working day.
Location
Southport
Service
Commercial lighting
Duration
4 nights, after hours
Client
Business owner
The brief
The owner of this three-level office building in Southport occupies the top floor and leases the two below to an accounting firm and a physiotherapy practice. All three levels still had the original 1200 by 600 recessed troffers, each with twin 36W fluorescent tubes and magnetic ballasts. Tubes were failing every few weeks, several fittings flickered, and the ballasts hummed loudly enough that the physio had moved one treatment room.
The owner wanted lower power bills and an end to the constant call-outs for tubes, but the work could not interrupt any tenant during business hours. The brief was a full LED retrofit, done after hours, with the emergency lighting checked at the same time so the building stayed compliant.
What we did
Ben Hartley led the job. He walked all three levels with the owner first, counted 186 troffers and 22 emergency fittings, and tested the lighting circuits at each distribution board so we knew what we were working with before any ceiling tile came down. The cabling was sound, so we replaced fittings rather than rewiring.
We worked from 6pm to 1am over four nights, one level at a time, with the owner's top floor last. Each morning the floor we had finished was cleaned, every tile was back in place and the old fittings were already in the skip, so staff arrived to a working office with brighter, even light and no hum.
Left: testing the lighting circuits at a level distribution board. Right: checking the load on the supply before and after the retrofit.
The result
The lighting load across the building dropped from about 15 kW to under 7 kW, a saving of roughly 25,600 kWh a year on normal office hours. The owner also noticed the air conditioning running less, because the LED panels put far less heat into the ceiling space than the old tubes and ballasts.
The tenants report no flicker, no hum and no more waiting for a tube to be changed. The emergency lighting now has a fresh test record, and the building is on our six-monthly emergency lighting maintenance schedule, so the next test is booked rather than remembered.
About 55%
Less lighting energy
186
Troffers replaced
0
Business hours lost
Project at a glance
Fixed-price quote
Need an office retrofit like this one?
Send the floor area, fitting count and a few photos. We reply within the hour in business hours and can work after hours.
What the owners said
“Not one tenant lost a morning. The crew finished a floor each night, left it spotless, and the power bill for the common areas has nearly halved.”
Warren K.
Building owner, Southport · Commercial lighting
The service
Commercial electrical and lighting
Office, retail and warehouse lighting upgrades for Gold Coast businesses, scheduled after hours so your doors stay open, with a fixed written quote.
The area
Electricians in Southport
Offices, medical suites, older brick homes and high-rise units around the CBD and the Broadwater. See recent Southport jobs and typical arrival times from our Coomera base.
More projects
Related commercial projects
Get in touch
Planning a commercial retrofit?
Send us your floor area and a few photos of the ceilings and we will come back with a fixed price, usually within the hour.