How to Control Electrical Material and Labor Costs in a Recovering Market

Despite 2020’s temporary, COVID-driven economic slowdown, the housing market is booming, and demand for remodeling services is through the roof. While that should have electrical contractors seeing dollar signs, they face unique challenges that squeeze potential profits. Amid material costs and shortages and a tightening labor market, they must do more with less.

One thing is clear: “business as usual” won’t cut it for contractors who want to capitalize on the burgeoning demand. Now is the time to re-evaluate products and processes to eliminate inefficiencies, find added value wherever possible, and gain a new competitive edge.

When’s the last time you evaluated your current go-to lighting solutions, and whether there could be more cost-effective options? Since virtually every residential, multifamily, or light commercial project requires lighting installation, this could be a significant first step toward controlling your electrical labor and material costs.
 

Although you can never go wrong with the look of recessed or “can” lighting, a lot can go wrong during installation—especially when that involves running new cables, installing new switches, working with plaster or wood ceilings, or tricky obstacles such as framing or duct work. Even in an ideal setting, the process is unnecessarily time-consuming considering the alternative: using more flexible canless lighting.

With no housing or junction box to get in the way, you can install canless lighting below the ceiling in shallow plenum heights. Even better: many of the direct mount options on the market today mimic the look of traditional recessed lighting fixtures, so clients don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics.
 

Because of lighting’s enormous impact on the overall look and feel within a space, clients will quickly notice cheap shortcuts, flickering, glare, or inconvenient control solutions. Cue the callbacks.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today, you can find canless solutions with a wide variety of optical packages, including field-selectable color temperature (CCT), adjustable lumen output, and dimming. Directional products like the HALO HLA or RA-DM feature adjustable angles, so the light goes where you need it. Products like the HALO LT-DM, HALO LCR, and RL-DM even mimic the low glare look of traditional “can” lighting with a regressed lens and smooth or baffled trim.   
 

Have you thought about ways to not only increase your margins by cutting electrical costs, but by adding value? Smart direct mount lighting is an increasingly popular and easy “upsell” to replace traditional downlighting. It doesn’t require any additional training or labor on the contractor’s part, but they often find customers are willing to pay a premium for the added control and convenience it affords.

Enter HALO Home: a state-of-the-art smart home lighting and control collection that’s easy to set up (requiring only a Bluetooth-enabled device) and even easier to control via the HALO Home app. This technology is available in a wide range of direct mount downlight options, including the ultra-slim MicroEdge making it an excellent way for contractors to gain a competitive edge while keeping labor and installation costs low.