Calculate the exact financial and energy differences of upgrading to LED, factoring in electricity, HVAC offset, demand charges, and lamp life.
Note: This tool models the *difference* between two lighting scenarios. To calculate the total electricity bill, use the Studio Electricity Cost Calculator.
Replacing tungsten or HMI fixtures with LEDs can reduce more than the lighting electricity load. Lower wattage can also reduce cooling demand, avoid replacement-lamp purchases, and lower demand charges where the studio is billed for peak electrical capacity.
The LED Energy Savings Calculator compares an existing conventional lighting package with a proposed LED replacement. It estimates Annual Saving, Payback Period, and Load Reduction, then separates the result into lighting energy, cooling, lamp, and demand-charge savings.
This is a comparison tool. It shows the difference between two lighting scenarios rather than estimating the studio’s total electricity bill. Use realistic operating hours, fixture draw, tariff information, and retrofit costs.
The calculator begins by comparing the connected electrical load of the current and replacement fixtures.
Current connected load = Conventional fixture count × Average wattage each ÷ 1,000
New connected load = LED fixture count × Average LED wattage each ÷ 1,000
kW saved = Current connected load – New connected load
Annual operating hours determine how much electrical energy that reduction represents.
Annual operating hours = Operating hours per day × Operating days per year
Annual kWh saved = kW saved × Annual operating hours
The calculator then adds estimated cooling, replacement-lamp, and demand-charge savings where those inputs apply.
Enter the existing fixture package first, then describe the LED replacement and the studio’s actual usage.
Use Conventional Fixture Count for the tungsten or HMI fixtures being replaced. Enter Average Wattage Each as their electrical draw per fixture. The default is 1,000 W.
If the existing package contains several fixture types with very different wattages, use a weighted average or calculate the groups separately.
Enter Lamp Cost for the price of one replacement lamp and Lamp Life for its rated operating hours. The default lamp life is 400 hours.
Enter LED Fixture Count for the proposed replacement fixtures and Average LED Wattage Each for actual electrical draw at full output. The default is 200 W. Do not use a tungsten-equivalent marketing number.
Add LED Cost Each and Installation Cost Each. Installation can include labour, rigging changes, and rewiring associated with the retrofit.
Project cost = LED fixture count × (LED cost each + Installation cost each)
Confirm that the proposed LED package also meets the required light output, color quality, beam characteristics, and production needs before relying on the financial comparison.
Enter Operating Hours per Day for the hours the rig is actually on, not the full booking or crew day. The default is eight hours. Use Operating Days per Year for the number of days the rig operates, default 220.
Enter Electricity Rate in dollars per kWh. If the facility has a separate Demand Charge, enter the dollars per kW per month. The default is zero because not every studio uses a demand tariff.
Use HVAC Offset to estimate cooling energy avoided because LEDs release less heat into the space. The default is 30 percent of lighting kWh saved. Treat this as a planning assumption rather than a measured HVAC result.
Enter Grid Emission Factor in kg CO2e per kWh if you want the annual emissions estimate. The default is 0.40.
The outputs separate the retrofit benefit into four savings sources.
Energy saving = Annual kWh saved × Electricity rate
The cooling estimate is:
Cooling kWh saved = Annual kWh saved × (HVAC offset / 100)
Cooling saving = Cooling kWh saved × Electricity rate
Actual cooling savings depend on HVAC efficiency, weather, ventilation, controls, and where fixture heat is released.
The calculator estimates conventional lamp use:
Lamps replaced per year = (Annual operating hours ÷ Lamp life) × Conventional fixture count
Lamp saving = Lamps replaced per year × Lamp cost
Demand-charge savings apply only when a non-zero rate is entered:
Demand-charge saving = kW saved × Demand charge × 12
Actual demand billing can depend on tariff rules and when the studio reaches its peak, so use the current billing structure.
Annual saving = Energy + Cooling + Demand + Lamp savings
Payback period = Project cost ÷ Annual saving
The calculator labels payback under two years as Strong Case, two to four years as Solid Case, and over four years as Marginal Case. These are planning signals, not investment guarantees.
Five Year Net Position subtracts project cost from five years of modeled annual savings. The Saving Sources table shows each Saving Line, Annual Amount, Share of Total, and Five Year Total.
Consider 40 conventional fixtures drawing 1,000 W each. Replacement lamps cost $28 and are rated for 400 hours. The proposed retrofit uses 40 LED fixtures drawing 200 W each, costing $1,450 per fixture plus $120 installation.
40 × 1,000 ÷ 1,000 = 40 kW current load
40 × 200 ÷ 1,000 = 8 kW new load
The retrofit removes 32 kW, an 80 percent Load Reduction.
At eight operating hours per day and 220 days per year:
8 × 220 = 1,760 annual operating hours
32 × 1,760 = 56,320 kWh saved
At $0.14 per kWh, Energy Saving is approximately $7,885 per year.
A 30 percent HVAC Offset adds 16,896 kWh of modeled cooling savings, worth approximately $2,365.
With a $12 per kW monthly demand charge:
32 × $12 × 12 = $4,608 annual demand-charge saving
The conventional rig consumes an estimated 176 replacement lamps per year:
(1,760 ÷ 400) × 40 = 176 lamps
At $28 each, avoided lamp purchases contribute $4,928.
Total modeled Annual Saving is approximately $19,786.
The LED project costs:
40 × ($1,450 + $120) = $62,800
That produces a modeled 3.17-year Payback Period, placing the example in the Solid Case range.
Over five years, the modeled net position is approximately $36,131 after project cost. At the entered emissions factor, the lighting and cooling reduction equals about 29,287 kg CO2e, or 29.3 tonnes, per year.
Use the calculator to identify which savings source is making the retrofit work.
If operating hours are low, energy and lamp savings may not recover a high LED purchase price quickly. If the studio runs long days, changes lamps frequently, or pays demand charges, the case may become stronger.
Do not focus only on electricity. In the worked example, avoided lamps, cooling, and demand charges together exceed the direct lighting-energy saving.
Test fixture price, wattage, operating hours, lamp life, and HVAC offset one at a time. Utility or energy-efficiency rebates may also be available in some locations. Check current local programs rather than assuming a fixed incentive.
LED comparisons are more useful when fixture inventories, operating schedules, equipment records, and facility requirements stay current.
Studio Hero connects scheduling, projects, crew coordination, budgeting, invoicing, equipment tracking, inventory, client workflows, and media assets in one connected studio management system.
Studio Hero’s studio operations management capabilities help teams keep facility activity, equipment, schedules, and operational information connected when planning changes to the lighting package.
No. It compares the existing conventional rig with the LED replacement and calculates the difference between them. Total studio electricity cost requires a separate electricity-cost calculation.
No. Enter actual electrical draw at full output. Equivalent-output claims describe light output, not watts consumed.
Conventional tungsten and HMI systems may require replacement lamps. The calculator estimates that recurring cost from annual hours, lamp life, fixture count, and lamp price.
Leave Demand Charge at zero. Demand-charge savings will then be excluded.
No. It is a simplified estimate based on the reduction in lighting energy. Real HVAC savings depend on the building and mechanical system.
No. Payback is one financial measure. Fixture output, color quality, reliability, serviceability, creative requirements, and available capital also matter.
Not unless you adjust the project assumptions. Incentive programs vary by location and change over time, so check current local offerings.
Recalculate when fixture pricing, installation cost, wattage, operating hours, electricity rates, demand charges, lamp costs, cooling assumptions, or the proposed package changes materially.
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