LED vs Traditional Flood Light: Real Energy and Cost Comparison

When clients ask whether LED flood lights are worth the higher unit price, the honest answer is that the unit price is the least important number. What matters is total cost of ownership over ten years: energy, maintenance and the cost of getting a lift or crane on site.

The basic numbers

	Metal Halide 400W	High-Pressure Sodium 400W	LED 200W
System power	~440 W	~460 W	~200 W
Luminous efficacy	70–90 lm/W	90–120 lm/W	130–160 lm/W
Rated life	8,000–12,000 h	15,000–24,000 h	50,000 h+
Lumen depreciation	Severe	Moderate	Low (L70 at 50,000 h)
Warm-up	2–5 min	2–5 min	Instant
CRI	~65	~25	> 80

Energy: roughly a 55% reduction

Replacing a 400 W metal halide system with a 200 W LED fixture that produces equivalent illuminance cuts power draw by more than half. On a 10-hour nightly schedule, that is around 875 kWh saved per fixture per year — for a 100-fixture sports ground, roughly 87,500 kWh annually.

Maintenance: the number clients forget

Metal halide lamps need replacing every 1–2 years in a typical outdoor duty cycle. Each replacement needs access equipment, and often a licensed electrician. For high mast lighting that means a crane. Adding up lamp cost, labour and access equipment, the 10-year maintenance bill for a metal halide installation routinely exceeds the original purchase price of the fixtures.

Light quality beyond efficiency

• CRI: LED at CRI > 80 makes colours and faces look natural; sodium lighting at CRI ~25 makes everything look orange-grey. This matters for sports broadcast and for retail and hospitality exteriors.
• Instant start: LED reaches full output immediately, which matters for security and for stadiums where lights are switched frequently.
• Directional optics: LED fixtures can place light precisely on the target, cutting spill and light pollution — increasingly a compliance requirement.

Where the payback lands

For a high-usage installation (10 hours a night, 365 days), the energy saving alone typically pays back the LED premium within 2–3 years. Add avoided maintenance and the case becomes stronger every year after that. For installations used only a few hours a week, the payback is longer — but the maintenance saving and light quality usually still justify LED.

We can run the numbers for your specific site: send us the fixture count, current lamp type and operating hours.