Costing Overview::

Calculating True System Cost

To calculate a complete system cost you must add the initial equipment cost, Operating cost (energy cost + maintenance cost) and the cost of money.  Be very careful not to omit any of the components of this calculation as your results will be totally incorrect.  It would be more accurate to also include installation costs if they are available but you could assume that installation costs are the same (or very close) for all pre-wired, pre-aimed, remote ballast systems. 

There has been an argument that the cost of money does not apply because electricity costs also rise.  If you check the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) table 8.10; the column labeled “REAL” represents kW hour costs with inflation applied; you will see that the electricity costs rise less than inflation so in fact electricity costs are going down over time when compared to the value of money.  The EIA is also predicting a significant decrease in the cost of electricity due to the recent acceleration of alternative energy technology.

Energy costs are very important to keep in mind but you shouldn’t pay too much for too little, eliminate your return on investment and actually end up paying more.

Below is a calculator that can be used to compare complete system costs.  Please see the Constant type Lighting Strategy- Pros & Cons worksheet for an explanation of the formulas used within this calculator.

Special Notes:

• If a system comes with a warranty enter zero (0) in the field 'Replacement Cost per Lamp including Labor'.
• Enter the fixture per kW consumption for the lamp power block in the 'Lamp Power measured in Kilowatt' (ex. 1.605 instead of 1500).

Therefore no matter what the requirements, Qualite can meet your needs.