Dive summary:

• LED and other technologies offer better performance than legacy lighting systems, but contractors need to help clients think through whether the investment makes sense for common areas in a given rehabilitation project.
• A significant question is how long the client expects to own the asset, because replacing conventional lighting with LED or other 21st-century technologies may not be worth the investment if the asset is to be sold within the pay-back period.
• If modernized lighting is deemed worthwhile, it is better to install new equipment than to use retrofit kits to convert existing fixtures.

From the article:

Regency generally looks to replace parking-lot and other common-area lighting fixtures that are maybe 15 or 20 years old, rather than targeting marginally greater efficiencies by replacing reasonably performing HIDs in place for just five years or thereabouts. ...