Manufacturing LED retrofits in California.
High-bay warehouses, production floors, loading docks, and exterior yards. LED retrofits for 480V industrial sites that cut energy 70%+ and eliminate the 10-minute HID restrike problem.
What manufacturing operators in California should know.
California is a high-value market with the highest commercial electricity rates in the continental US — averaging ~$0.23/kWh, with some territories pushing $0.30/kWh. That makes LED retrofit payback exceptionally fast — typically under 2 years. Title 24 requires automatic lighting reduction at night, which means controls aren't optional. Energie's California office handles CRE, office, and industrial projects across the state.
Average commercial rate: $0.23/kWh (highest in continental US)
California incentive navigation
SCE covers most of southern California outside LA city. Commercial LED and controls incentives run through custom and deemed pathways, with some of the strongest control-system incentives in the country.
PG&E territory covers northern and central California. Title 24 compliance requirements make networked controls effectively mandatory on larger retrofits, which increases the incentive pool.
SDG&E serves San Diego and south Orange County. Prescriptive and custom pathways for commercial lighting upgrades.
What manufacturing operators tell us is broken.
Color shift makes QC unreliable
Metal halide drifts toward green as it ages. Your inspectors are reading product under light that isn't what the lamp delivered on day one.
Startup delays cost you shifts
HID fixtures take 10 minutes to restrike. A power blip means the morning shift starts in the dark. LEDs are instant on, every time.
480V replacement costs add up
Industrial voltage means higher equipment costs per fixture — roughly 40% premium. Spec matters. We size and source to pull that back down.
OSHA compliance is moving
29 CFR 1926.56 mandates 3-30 foot-candles depending on area. Aging HID fixtures fail the OSHA test long before anyone notices.
We've retrofitted Buffalo Rock bottling plants, Coca Cola United facilities, Newman Technology manufacturing, BR Williams distribution warehouses, and American Apparel production sites. Industrial retrofits are where LED math is most favorable — high burn hours, tall ceilings, and every fixture is visible in the P&L.
High-bay LED pays back fastest.
Industrial sites run 2-3 shifts — that's 4,000-6,000 burn hours per year per fixture. At those burn hours, 400W MH → 150W LED saves roughly $160-$200 per fixture per year in energy alone. Add maintenance reduction (no more bucket trucks at 30ft ceilings) and payback lands under 2 years on most sites.
- 400W metal halide → 150W LED at 5,000 burn hours/year = ~$180 saved per fixture annually
- Bucket truck cost at high-bay height: $300-$700/day — retrofits kill most of it
- LEDs eliminate color shift that causes quality inspection errors in production
- 480V voltage adds ~40% equipment cost — we source to beat typical wholesale
Real work in California.
Free plant audit.
One walkthrough. Fixture count, wattage inventory, burn hour math, payback in your hand before you leave the floor.