# Commercial LED lighting upgrades and your EPC > Why replacing commercial lighting is usually the cheapest way to move a non-domestic EPC rating, and when it is not enough on its own. Source: https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/lighting --- # Commercial LED lighting upgrades and your EPC Lighting is where most commercial EPC improvements start, and the reason is unglamorous: it is the cheapest fixed service in the building to replace, it does not need the building emptied, and it shows up directly in the rating calculation. Payback is around a year under continuous operation, and longer on shorter hours, and lighting energy typically falls by a substantial margin, commonly more than half. Best value per rating point in most buildings ## Why lighting moves the rating at all A non-domestic EPC is an asset rating of the building and its services, not of your metered use. That distinction catches people out, because it means switching the lights off at night does nothing to your certificate even though it cuts your bill. What the assessment looks at is the installed lighting: the lamp type, the power it draws for the area it lights, and whether there are controls on it. Replace the installed fixtures and you change an input the model actually reads. That is why lighting punches above its weight here. A measure can save you real money and still not move your rating, and the reverse is true too, which is why a contractor who only ever talks about your bill is answering a different question from the one your lease is asking. ## What a lighting upgrade actually involves There are three different jobs that all get called a lighting upgrade, and they cost very different amounts. - Lamp replacement, where LED tubes go into the existing fittings. Cheapest, fastest, and the weakest result, because the old fitting was designed to spread light from a tube that behaved differently. - Fixture replacement, where the whole fitting is changed. More expensive, much better light, and the only version that reliably gets you the full improvement. - Fixture replacement with controls, where sensing and zoning go in at the same time. Covered separately, because the decision about controls is its own decision and is usually the better buy. ## When lighting is not the answer If your building is already on LED throughout, lighting has nothing left to give and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you fixtures. The same is true if the gap between your current rating and the one you need is large: lighting alone will not bridge several bands in a building with poor heating plant and single glazing. In both cases the useful next step is an assessment that tells you where the headroom actually is. We would rather tell you that than take the enquiry. ## Questions we get asked ### Will changing the lights definitely improve my EPC rating? ### Can I just put LED tubes in the existing fittings? ### Do I need to close the building while the work happens? Sources - Payback on a commercial LED retrofit depends primarily on operating hours: around a year where lighting runs continuously, and longer in a building lit for normal office hours. [LED revolution puts lighting top of the energy efficiency agenda, Carbon Trust, 2014](https://www.carbontrust.com/news-and-insights/insights/led-revolution-puts-lighting-top-of-the-energy-efficiency-agenda) - A non-domestic EPC is an asset rating: it is based on the fabric of the building and its services rather than on metered consumption. [A guide to energy performance certificates for the construction, sale and let of non-dwellings, DCLG, 2014](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-performance-certificates-for-the-construction-sale-and-let-of-non-dwellings) Where this page describes costs or savings it gives a general range rather than a quoted figure, because the numbers depend on your building, your operating hours and the equipment being replaced. A contractor gives you a figure after a survey. Last updated 8 October 2026 . - [Lighting controls Often the better buy than fixtures alone](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/measures/controls) - [Fluorescent to LED If you are replacing tubes specifically](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/fluorescent-to-led-conversion) - [Warehouse lighting Where mounting height changes the sums](https://commercialepcupgrades.co.uk/buildings/warehouse) Next step ## Get lighting priced for your building Tell us the building type, the floor area and the rating you are on now. One commercial contractor comes back to you with a quote off a survey. Or call [07367 293494](tel:+447367293494). Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.