Inexpensive Does Not Mean Cheap / Cheap Does Not Mean Inexpensive

Getting the Most from Value Engineering

We’ve all been there in some form…It could be the design you desire most for your facility just doesn’t fit the budget or Return on Investment (ROI) constraints won’t allow the full scope. Another possibility is that capital expense has taken precedence and you’re forced to scale your project back. You need to trim, but where? The natural inclination is to cut cost and what is the obvious choice? Many projects look at lighting as non-essential so that becomes the place to implement these cut backs. There are less expensive options and they will give you light. You just need to know what quality of light you want.

Like with everything else, you generally get what you pay for with light fixtures!

It is true, LED’s have amazing potential! But don’t be fooled by selling points that are really just unsubstantiated claims based upon potential. An LED diode on a bench in a lab may last +100,000 hours but in reality, that LED diode is not going to be inside the controlled environment of a lab once it goes into mass production and becomes installed. Claims of eternal lifespan, evaporated maintenance costs, planet saving energy savings, and rebates that “pay for it all” at “a fraction of the cost” should be researched before taking them entirely seriously.

Like any piece of equipment, a light fixture is the sum of its parts. Its performance and longevity rely on the quality of its components and it reaches optimal performance when installed in the environment for which it was designed.

Value Engineering does not imply that inexpensive fixtures are cheaply made and it certainly doesn’t mean the more a fixture costs, the longer it will last and the better it will perform. The key is understanding quality in the technology, the components, the trade-offs, and how to keep the “value” in Value Engineering.

Because the core of our strength is our history and experience in construction standards and code compliance on a national scale, On-Site Lighting & Survey has the product knowledge and practical experience to offer solutions that meet your standards of performance, aesthetics, and cost that also meet the high standard of our warranty, meaning you are getting the best value for your budget.