Safeguard your LED lighting investment, by ensuring your warranty offers the protection you need

If you’re considering a lighting overhaul, the chances are you’re well versed in the benefits of LEDs. Not only do they consume up to 80% less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs, they have a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours.

But when you’re deciding how to invest your cash, don’t forget that after care is still a crucial part of your lighting contract. And when it comes to warranties, it’s fair to say all things are not created equally. Sadly, some of them can be misleading and even unfair. Here, we give our checklist for safeguarding your business against some of the common pitfalls.

Confirm you’re covered

If a maintenance plan isn’t mentioned in your contract, it’s unlikely to be included. Granted, lower cost installations are appealing, but they often don’t include after care. While that’s tempting now, try to remember that opting for after sales care will save you hassle, cash and stress in the long term.

Check the small print

Then check again. If a product fails, does your warranty guarantee a replacement? So far so good, but does it also cover the call out charge for installation? The last thing you want is to be landed with a hefty engineer’s bill.

Ask for a timeframe

You don’t want to be kept waiting for weeks on end for a replacement. Under the terms of Greenlite’s warranty, if a product fails our engineers will replace it for free within 2-3 days of receiving your order.

Is your warranty realistic?

It’s easy to be seduced by 10-year or even ‘lifetime’ warranties, but be wary. LEDs may be long lasting, but they still have a limited life span, and five years is a more reasonable time frame.

Does it cover colour shift?

Your warranty may cover bigger issues, like unit failure, but check that niggles such as lumen depreciation and colour shift are also included.

Look out for restrictions on burn hours

Some contracts tie the length of the warranty to the number of hours the LEDS can be in operation. For example, you may have a five-year plan, yet be limited to 22,000 hours of use. If you exceed that in three years, your warranty may expire early.

Confirm your supplier’s definition of failure

In some cases, an alarmingly high number of diodes have to fail before an LED fitting is considered in need of replacement. Double check now, or you could find yourself enduring poor light conditions later on.

Check your supplier’s network

It’s all very well promising to fix problems at the drop of the hat, but does your supplier have the infrastructure to come good? Greenlite has a vast network, servicing over 9,000 customer sites across the UK. That means there’s nearly always someone available to help you.

Confirm the registration policy

Some warranties insist you register with the manufacturer, which can be frustrating and time consuming. With Greenlite, there’s no need to do this. We keep all the records, and do the hard work for you.

Is it transferrable?

If you’re likely to want to sell your business before your warranty is up, ensure the plan can be signed over to your successor.

Demand transparency

Finally, if the firm is reluctant to answer your questions, see it as a massive red flag. Walk away and find another supplier, pronto. It’s also always worth checking that your supplier is financially robust before signing on the dotted line. If they go under, your warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

Greenlite’s hassle-free warranty provides peace of mind for five years. It kicks in as soon as the product is installed and if any component fails, you simply raise an order with us. Within 2-3 days of receipt, one of our engineers will be on site to install the replacement, for free. To find out more about how Greenlite Group can help you with a lighting upgrade, call 0844 880 2116.