# LED Lighting Companies



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

I use lithonia and morris. Mostly morris because I know the rep very well and the website has retail prices so if the customer looks it up it looks like I gave them a great deal.


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## StarCat (Oct 15, 2018)

I have been using an outfit called " Green LED Zone."
The quality as an example on the wall packs and UFO style has been first rate.
The wall packs are more rugged than a sodium type fixture of the same purpose and with 5 year warranty.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

ESPEN seems to have some very reliable products for flourescent retros.


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## crw16 (Dec 11, 2017)

Looking for feedback regarding LED companies using unlicensed uninsured guys to do installations in commericial locations?


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## electricalwiz (Mar 12, 2011)

MDB1988 said:


> What brands does everyone like for their LED lighting? Or is it mostly all the same?
> 
> 
> We got some 8' 8000 lumen 4000k linear fixtures(8-OC4-LED) in as a demo from Elite LED Lighting. Going to replace some old 8' T12 fixtures with them today and see how they do. Good company to stick with?


I like RAAB for outdoor lights, CREE for layins and Nicor or Max for Highbay


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

crw16 said:


> Looking for feedback regarding LED companies using unlicensed uninsured guys to do installations in commericial locations?


What do you want to know?....:shifty:


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

crw16 said:


> Looking for feedback regarding LED companies using unlicensed uninsured guys to do installations in commericial locations?


If they need a license, they find a contractor in the area with one and sub the job out to them. If they don't, the use their own employees or their own (regular) subs. Just depends where the job is. 

Very few companies operate without some type of insurance. You can't land contacts without it. And the ones that do operate like that are sub of a sub type scenarios.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

deleted. wrong thread.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

MHElectric said:


> If they need a license, they find a contractor in the area with one and sub the job out to them. If they don't, the use their own employees or their own (regular) subs. Just depends where the job is.
> 
> Very few companies operate without some type of insurance. You can't land contacts without it. And the ones that do operate like that are sub of a sub type scenarios.


I quote jobs for my company and i get every new install or upgrade as you can not beat a employee that makes no profit. 

Then along comes a crew that install led lights. Now i know that i over pay for the parts so they can reduce there labor rate and make the money back on the fixtures plus they do not have to rent lifts if they own them but they are quoting half my price for a turn key job. 

Not going to bitch as i hate lights, Im just puzzled that they can do the job that cheap. Says licence and insured so im happy to see them.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

gpop said:


> I quote jobs for my company and i get every new install or upgrade as you can not beat a employee that makes no profit.
> 
> Then along comes a crew that install led lights. Now i know that i over pay for the parts so they can reduce there labor rate and make the money back on the fixtures plus they do not have to rent lifts if they own them but they are quoting half my price for a turn key job.
> 
> Not going to bitch as i hate lights, Im just puzzled that they can do the job that cheap. Says licence and insured so im happy to see them.


I've gotten used to lighting. Electrical just starting losing its luster more and more. Lights are much easier on the body, I can do this until I'm old. I know I don't want to be digging ditches when I'm 60.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

gpop said:


> I quote jobs for my company and i get every new install or upgrade as you can not beat a employee that makes no profit.
> 
> Then along comes a crew that install led lights. Now i know that i over pay for the parts so they can reduce there labor rate and make the money back on the fixtures plus they do not have to rent lifts if they own them but they are quoting half my price for a turqqqn key job.
> 
> Not going to bitch as i hate lights, Im just puzzled that they can do the job that cheap. Says licence and insured so im happy to see them.


After re-reading your post, I decided to give a better response than I did the first time. I sort of just rushed through reading it (typical).

Lighting retro companies almost never provide anything but labor. The lighting supplier or Main Contractor always ships the lights or kits and materials to the job and usually rents the lifts at rediculously low rates, or sometimes like you said, owns them. 

Labor. Travel expenses. Hotel & perdiem. Profit. That's all they put in their bids. Everything else, including the warranty, is someone else's worry. 

Beating them on labor....this is going to be tough. All lighting techs do is change lights, so you can imagine after a few weeks, months and years, they get incredibly quick and efficient. So quick and efficient that a good crew can do in a few nights what an electrical crew could do in a week or two. It's hard to beat someone at their own game.


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## crw16 (Dec 11, 2017)

lets discuss permiting and inspection. a licensed contractor would jeopordize himself in this situation. the legal implications if something were to happen could be rather costly, maybe catastropic. I quess I am some what unhappy and uncomfortable with unskilled individuals doing electrical work. A plumbers helper, unemployed roofer and a carpenters helper.


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

crw16 said:


> lets discuss permiting and inspection. a licensed contractor would jeopordize himself in this situation. the legal implications if something were to happen could be rather costly, maybe catastropic. I quess I am some what unhappy and uncomfortable with unskilled individuals doing electrical work. A plumbers helper, unemployed roofer and a carpenters helper.


Replacement of a light fixture with another light fixture does not require a permit or inspection in most areas - otherwise hundreds of thousands of electrical service companies and millions of homeowners would be breaking this law daily. 

In the areas that do require this for some reason, you get a permit. 

Using a sub contractor for there license is a regular part of our industry. Construction contractors use licensed subs on all their jobs, HVAC contractors use subs to install their control systems, EC's use subs for special things like bucket truck work, sign installations, FA systems, etc. Why is lighting any different? 

And remember, we were all carpenters helpers, unemployed factory workers, and unskilled helpers before we got into this business. Everybody deserves a chance to work hard and feed their families.


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## John M. (Oct 29, 2016)

MDB1988 said:


> What brands does everyone like for their LED lighting? Or is it mostly all the same?
> 
> 
> We got some 8' 8000 lumen 4000k linear fixtures(8-OC4-LED) in as a demo from Elite LED Lighting. Going to replace some old 8' T12 fixtures with them today and see how they do. Good company to stick with?


What did you pay for them, about $160 each? How did they work?


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

If you’re asking about Elite, their quality seems to be somewhere between garbage and somewhat tolerable. In other words, they’re no different than most other lighting manufacturers.


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## crw16 (Dec 11, 2017)

point taken. the local AHJ here in N.J., informed me that if the wiring connection is broken and the existing fixture removed and another fixture is installed it would require apermit and inspection. also the fixture would have to comply with current code. in this case a layin type fixture would have to be supported indepentently of the drop cieling as well as have the clips securing it to the cieling. As i have been the contractor of record at this building for several years I have concern, If there is an issue, fire or partial malfunction, that i may be pulled into a legal situation. The lighting retrofit company may no longer be around. Lawyers and insurance always want to make some one pay!!!


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

99cents said:


> If you’re asking about Elite, their quality seems to be somewhere between garbage and somewhat tolerable. In other words, they’re no different than most other lighting manufacturers.


Ever heard of these guys: http://www.zlighttech.com/index.html

I installed some sign retrofit kits they had, and the quality seemed above average. You could ask for a free catalog of their products and I'm sure it would show up a few days later. 

Lots of good stuff in there. Retrofit kits/lamps, new fixtures and plenty of drivers misc. stuff. Check it out.


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## MDB1988 (Nov 13, 2017)

Ended up getting some Topaz 4' and 8' LED tube replacements and 4' LED linear fixtures at our suppliers recommendation. Seem fine so far.


Trying to find a flush mount round fixture in the 12"-16" range that'll do at least 2000 lumens now. Elite has one but it seems pricey at $90. Topaz only has a 1500 lumen one but much better price at $40.


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## superior_sparks (Jun 1, 2018)

I find that different brands have varying degrees of quality depending on the line of product. The normal brands I work with are WAC for landscape/outdoor, Viribright for shoebox/tubes/high bays, and Hubbell for controls/everything else. I also use Lithonia sometimes too.


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## tomjahnson (Mar 5, 2019)

Thanks all for the information. It's very useful


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## RAD COM (Mar 3, 2019)

I will never use Elite lighting again. I purchased their top of the line ER3 fixtures with the smart hue technology and Lutron ballasts. They would cycle through ,turn on ramp up, and click off. Their Tech support was useless. Called Lutron and their guess based on the part numbers was driver/LED mismatch. Elite had no clue what was wrong and could offer no input on how to get the parts to match. Ended up having to remove the fixtures and return them. 
The second issue I had with Elite was with trim color. Customer wanted a 1411 2 piece trim in bronze, as shown in their catalog and online. They sent me the 1401 1 piece units. Customer rejected them, so I reordered. This time they gave me 1411's that were spray painted brown. They still had the 1411W sticker on them. Customer rejected again so I returned and reordered. Third time I got the 1401 one piece trims back again. After three returns they finally told me they don't have the 1411's in bronze, nor will they make them. Why couldn't they have told me in the beginning that couldn't actually supply parts listed in their catalog?


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## B-Nabs (Jun 4, 2014)

RAD COM said:


> I will never use Elite lighting again. I purchased their top of the line ER3 fixtures with the smart hue technology and Lutron ballasts. They would cycle through ,turn on ramp up, and click off. Their Tech support was useless. Called Lutron and their guess based on the part numbers was driver/LED mismatch. Elite had no clue what was wrong and could offer no input on how to get the parts to match. Ended up having to remove the fixtures and return them.
> 
> The second issue I had with Elite was with trim color. Customer wanted a 1411 2 piece trim in bronze, as shown in their catalog and online. They sent me the 1401 1 piece units. Customer rejected them, so I reordered. This time they gave me 1411's that were spray painted brown. They still had the 1411W sticker on them. Customer rejected again so I returned and reordered. Third time I got the 1401 one piece trims back again. After three returns they finally told me they don't have the 1411's in bronze, nor will they make them. Why couldn't they have told me in the beginning that couldn't actually supply parts listed in their catalog?


Yeah the people who work there seem kind of useless. I recently quoted a job that had their lights on it and had a heck of a time getting any information out of them. And they took forever getting pricing to my suppliers. 

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

They threw together a catalogue based upon what their Red Chinese supplier projected would be good sellers. 

They expected to be able to secure enough orders before actually bringing the stuff in.

They also could well have run into trouble with UL// CSA et al. when it came time to obtain listings. Each listing costs $$$.


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## goldengadgets (Apr 8, 2019)

Every manufacturer has there specialty. I work with 8-10 manufacturers here in Southern California and I know Elite Lighting and they are good with recessed downlights. they stock all kinds of trims and drivers and I only use them for decorative projects.

The 4ft 8ft strip light fixtures are dime a dozen because they became the default replacements for 2-tube light fixtures such as wraparounds and work bench lights. Almost every lighting manufacturer makes one and there are companies that specialize in that category. I've been distributing T-1 Lighting, ATG Electronics, and/or NaturaLED depending on the color/power/add-on/dimming/warranty requirements.

The whole thing with LED driver compatibility is that most LED drivers used in fixtures nowadays are themselves branded and replaceable. If you were to install the strip light fixture, you have to remove the lens to install so you'll see the driver right away. If the driver is not branded or carries the light companies own brand...steer away.

Of the Asian drivers, these are the ones that I have had the best results:

Meanwell
Inventronics
Sosen


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