It's easy to make the switch to LEDs

We have officially concluded our commercial lighting upgrade activity under the IPART Energy Savings Scheme. Due to the upcoming program termination on 31st March 2026, we are no longer accepting new bookings or registrations for this service to ensure all existing projects are finalised within government deadlines.
If you have already been provided a quote, your spot is reserve and the upgrade will go on.

LED lighting is renowned for its energy efficiency, consuming up to 75% less energy than traditional incandescent lighting and lasting up to 25 times longer.

The NSW ESS scheme previously upgraded lighting in NSW businesses to 100% LED lighting. The scheme helped upgrade lighting to support savings of up to 80% on lighting energy costs and included a 5-year warranty. The Scheme required a minimum co-payment of $5 per mega-watt hour (MWh) of electricity saved. For example, if the upgrade resulted in 50 MWh of energy savings, the purchaser was required to contribute a minimum of $250 (excluding GST) (i.e. $5 x 50 MWh).

Under the ESS, accredited certificate providers like MAC Trade Services played a pivotal role in promoting energy efficiency for businesses, councils, and distributors. Our service involved conducting energy assessments, designing tailored LED lighting solutions to meet the specific needs of each client, and overseeing installations. We ensured that upgrades were compliant with ESS requirements, enabling businesses and councils to benefit from reduced energy consumption and earn energy savings certificates.

Halogen downlights to LED

Do you know what your halogen bulbs are costing you? Here are just some of the reasons to switch your downlights from halogen to LED:

  • LED lights last 4x longer than halogen, saving you time and money on replacements
  • Reduce the fire risk associated with warm halogen lighting

Fluorescent to LED tubes

There were many reasons businesses replaced flickering fluorescents with energy-efficient LED tubes, including:

  • Improved productivity by replacing artificial-appearing fluorescent light with more natural LED light.
  • Reduce ongoing lighting costs by over 80% with no drop in brightness.

High Bay LEDs

You don't have to worry about losing your light when switching out your halide and mercury vapour high bays for LEDs. There were a number of reasons businesses made the switch, including:

  • Eligible businesses were able to receive over 300 LED high bays for minimal costs.
  • Reduce energy consumption by over 80% and save hundreds of dollars per light each year.
  • Improved light distribution from LEDs’ multi-point design.
  • Enjoy much longer life from your lighting and save money on replacements.

Floodlight LEDs

Have you put off replacing your old floodlights because LEDs are too expensive? This offer previously made it the right time to make the switch:

  • Eligible businesses were able to save thousands by replacing floodlights through government rebates with MAC Trade Services.
  • LED floodlights last up to 20x longer than halogens, saving you money and hassle with replacements.
  • Reduce the chance of breakage with more durable LEDs.
  • Increase the safety of people and the environment with lower-heat and less toxic LED bulbs.
  • Regional locations may be subject to availability of a MACTS representative. Contact MACTS to find out if MACTS operates in your area.
  • All Energy Saving Certificates created must be assigned to MAC Energy Efficiency Group Pty Ltd t/a MAC Trade Services the Accredited Certificate Provider under the Energy Savings Scheme.
  • Quantities of lights available to be upgraded under ESS may vary depending on your business environment. The lighting upgrade will comply with relevant requirements of AS/NZS 1680, the requirements of the NCC section F4.4, artificial lighting, and an Illumination Power Density (IPD) that equals or is less than the maximum IPD for each space, as defined in Part J6 of the NCC. Where an emergency luminaire replacement will take place, MAC will not be undertaking the inspection, maintenance, testing or certification requirements as prescribed in Australian Standards series 2293. The lighting upgrade will comply with relevant requirements of AS/NZS 1158, or any other standard or benchmark specified by the Scheme Administrator.
  • A minimum customer co-payment of $5 per MWh is required under the ESS Rule. If an ESS discount has been applied to the quote or invoice but the certificates cannot be created due to duplicate status, customer not signing the ESS documentation, restricted access for audit or any other reason, the value of the ESS discount will be charged to the customer in full.
  • All replaced lighting will be removed from site and recycled by MACTS.

Commercial Lighting FAQs

This information has been taken from the ESS website. For more information, you can visit the website here.

The ESS is a NSW government scheme designed to reduce energy use by creating  financial incentives for organisations to invest in upgrades to save energy. Commercial lighting activities can be delivered under the ESS by Accredited Certificate Providers (ACPs) to help NSW businesses, councils and distributors save energy through upgrades of building lighting, upgrades of lighting for roads and public spaces, and upgrades of lighting for traffic signals.

The ACP must make sure that the lighting upgrade meets the scheme requirements. This includes ensuring the new lighting system is fit for purpose, maintains service levels and complies with lighting industry standards.

The ESS requires that you contribute a net amount of at least $5 (excluding GST) for each MWh (megawatt hour) of energy saved towards the cost of the goods and services that make up the lighting upgrade (minimum co-payment). The minimum co-payment amount cannot be made by inkind payment or be reimbursed to you at any time before or after the upgrade takes place, either by the ACP or a third party. The ACP or its representatives may charge additional costs depending on the type and size of the upgrade. The ACP will advise you of any additional charges.

The ACP must ensure all equipment is installed by a person authorised to carry out electrical wiring work (for example, a licensed electrician or a tradesperson authorised to do the work under supervision). This is to ensure that the equipment is installed correctly and safely.

Removed or replaced equipment cannot be reused, resold or refurbished. This is to ensure that the old energy inefficient equipment is not used somewhere else after it is removed or replaced. In certain metropolitan areas any removed lighting equipment that contains mercury (such as fluorescent tubes and Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs)) must be recycled with a recycler accredited in the safe and proper handling of mercury.

The ESS specifies minimum requirements for the use of certain lighting equipment. Products subject to these requirements must be accepted by IPART as meeting these requirements before ESCs can be created from their installation.

IPART requires audits of all ACPs to ensure they comply with ESS requirements. Audits relate to the compliance of the ACP, not you, but IPART values and requires your cooperation. Audit activities which may occur include the following:

  • Inspection of lighting upgrades by the auditor to verify that:
    • the equipment installed as part of upgrade has been accepted for use in the ESS, and
    • the equipment installed is the same as what was claimed by the ACP.
  • Speaking to some purchasers (like you) to find out what was paid for the lighting upgrade and whether you received any rebates, payments or other financial benefits from the ACPor third parties.

The latter is to check that the ACP ensured that the purchaser contributed the required minimum co-payment.

 

The ACP will advise you if your lighting upgrade has been selected for a site inspection or if the auditor will contact you regarding the minimum co-payment. Please note, it is not appropriate for anyone, including an ACP or lighting installer, to tell you, the purchaser, what to tell the auditor.