LED retrofit and lighting refurbishment across Germany
LED retrofit for retail, office and industrial premises
A refurbishment differs from a first fit-out in what is already on site: supply cables, switching groups, ceiling structures and fixing points specified years ago for different luminaires. Shelving, chilled cabinets and machinery stay where they are. That is why the work starts with the space and not with the catalogue: the luminaire schedule is written only once we know how the existing installation is built and where the light is missing today. In retail the question is product presentation and colour rendering, in offices glare control at screen workstations, in warehouses and production mounting height and traffic routes. The brief changes every time, the sequence does not.
The fluorescent phase-out and the business case
Since 25 August 2023, linear T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps can no longer be manufactured or placed on the EU market. Compact fluorescent lamps with pin bases and ring lamps were covered in February 2023, halogen pin lamps in September. You may keep operating your installation, and remaining stock can still be bought and used up. Replacement lamps are getting scarcer and dearer, though, and at some point a run of light stays dark because the type is no longer available. Whether replacement pays off before that happens comes down to four figures: installed load, annual operating hours, your electricity price and what maintenance and relamping have cost you so far. We record them during the site survey and calculate them for your premises instead of working with industry averages.
Refurbishment while the site stays open
Most of our refurbishments run outside opening hours. We work section by section: one department, one aisle or one floor per night, and the area is cleared and cleaned before it is handed back. Stock and fittings are covered, working areas are cordoned off, and only the section being worked on is isolated. Multi-site programmes add logistics. We define the sequence once, keep luminaire types and mounting details identical across every branch and agree the time windows with each store manager. Branch ten then looks like branch one, and your regional manager gets one schedule instead of ten separate conversations.
Replacing the luminaire, not just the tube
Fitting an LED tube into an old housing is the quick option and rarely the cheaper one. Reflector, louvre and wiring stay as they were fifteen years ago, and nobody has calculated the light distribution of that combination. Then there is responsibility: converting an existing luminaire changes a product someone else placed on the market, and what still applies afterwards has to be clarified with that manufacturer. Replacing the complete luminaire removes the question. Our LED luminaires from our own production are built in series you can still reorder in two years.
The site survey before the retrofit
Every quotation starts with a visit to your premises. We record mounting heights and ceiling build-up, existing tracks and fixings, the condition of the supply cables, how the switching groups are divided and the illuminance that reaches the floor today. We also look at the emergency lighting circuits, because every refurbishment affects them. The luminaire schedule comes out of those notes, and the quotation out of the schedule.
Electrical installation and emergency lighting circuits
Not every retrofit ends with the luminaires. When the new layout needs fewer light points, switches different groups or runs cable on a different route, commercial electrical installation belongs to the same contract instead of a second trade with its own programme. Exit signs and safety luminaires are checked at the same time: they often sit on the same circuits and get passed over during refurbishments.
Retrofit by property type
Supermarkets & food retail
Night work, fresh food areas first
Fashion & specialist stores
Accents instead of flat general light
Multi-site rollout
One standard, one schedule
Offices & administration
Floor by floor, after hours
Warehouse & production
From a lift, no shift stoppage
From site survey to handover
Where floor plans exist, lighting design for commercial premises comes first, so the luminaire selection can be followed. We also install luminaires you did not buy from us. And if your own team or your electrician carries out the work, we take on installation supervision and are on site for the critical steps.
Five steps in a fixed order
- Visit the site
- Luminaire concept with schedule
- Quotation
- Agree the working windows
- Install and hand over
Working across Germany
We work nationwide, with a focus on Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart. We come to the site for the survey, including for a single location. For chains we plan the order so that each installation team covers one region in one run. That shortens the overall programme and keeps the standard the same across the branches.
Frequently asked questions
Can we carry on using our fluorescent lamps?
Yes. The ban covers manufacture and placing on the market, not operation. You may use up the lamps you have and buy remaining stock. It is still worth planning ahead: suitable replacements get harder to source every year.
Can you carry out the LED retrofit while we stay open?
Yes, that is our normal way of working. We work at night or outside opening hours, section by section, by department, aisle or floor. Every area is cleaned and handed back before trading starts.
Is an LED tube in the existing luminaire enough?
Technically possible, but not predictable. The optics and wiring stay old, the light distribution is not calculated, and converting another manufacturer’s luminaire needs a statement from that manufacturer. Replacing the whole luminaire removes both points.
Do you install luminaires from other manufacturers?
Yes. We look at the luminaires and at your existing installation first and tell you whether the fixings, supply and switching work together.
What if we want to install them ourselves?
Then we take on installation supervision. We set out the sequence, attend the critical steps on site and review the result before commissioning.
You receive a luminaire concept for your premises, a luminaire schedule and a transparent quotation from a single source.
