How Much Does Commercial Lighting Installation Cost in Arlington, TX?

If you're running a commercial property in Arlington and getting quotes for commercial lighting installation, the numbers will land between $3 and $12 per square foot — and that range is wide enough to be useless without context. Here's what actually drives the cost.

Arlington sits in one of the fastest-growing commercial corridors in the DFW Metroplex. Between the Entertainment District anchored by AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, the industrial parks along I-20, and the office developments near the Arlington Highlands, the city has a diverse mix of commercial properties that each carry different lighting requirements and cost profiles.

Commercial Lighting Cost Breakdown by Facility Type

These ranges reflect 2026 pricing in the DFW market, including fixtures, labor, permits, and basic controls. They assume a licensed electrical contractor doing the work to code.

Warehouse and Distribution Centers

Arlington's I-20 corridor and the Great Southwest Industrial District house hundreds of warehouses ranging from 10,000 to 500,000+ square feet.

New construction: $4–$8 per square foot. LED high-bay fixtures (typically 150W–240W UFO or linear high-bays) mounted at 20–30 foot clear heights. A 50,000 sq ft warehouse runs $200,000–$400,000 for a complete lighting package including distribution panels, branch circuits, and occupancy-based controls.

LED retrofit (replacing HID or fluorescent): $2.50–$5 per square foot. If your existing circuits and mounting points are usable, a retrofit drops the cost significantly. A 50,000 sq ft warehouse retrofit typically comes in at $125,000–$250,000. The energy savings alone — usually 50–70% reduction in lighting electricity — means payback periods of 2–4 years before factoring in Oncor rebates.

For high-bay installations, the fixture cost is roughly 40% of the total project. The other 60% is labor, electrical distribution, controls, and permitting. Ceiling height matters: every foot above 20 feet adds cost because you're dealing with scissor lifts or boom lifts, which adds $500–$1,500/day in equipment rental.

Office and Professional Spaces

The office lighting market in Arlington covers everything from single-story professional offices along Cooper Street to the multi-story developments near the University of Texas at Arlington campus.

New construction: $5–$10 per square foot. Recessed troffers (2x2 or 2x4), architectural downlights, and linear suspended fixtures. A 15,000 sq ft Class A office space runs $75,000–$150,000 for lighting. The higher end includes tunable white fixtures, DALI dimming, and daylight harvesting controls — features that tenants increasingly expect.

Retrofit: $3–$6 per square foot. The simplest approach is troffer retrofit kits that drop into existing grid ceilings. A full-floor retrofit of 10,000 sq ft with LED troffer kits and new occupancy sensors runs $30,000–$60,000. If you're keeping the existing fixture housings and just swapping the guts, you can push that below $3/sq ft.

Parking Lots and Exterior

Arlington's heat is a real factor for exterior fixtures. Summer ambient temperatures regularly hit 100°F+, which means LED drivers need to be rated for 50°C minimum ambient operation or you'll see premature failure.

Parking lot (pole-mounted): $2,000–$4,500 per pole, installed. That includes the LED area light (typically 150W–300W, replacing 400W–1000W HID), photocell, and labor. A 100-space parking lot typically needs 10–15 poles, putting your total at $20,000–$67,500. If poles and wiring already exist, you're just swapping heads — $800–$1,800 per fixture installed.

Building-mounted and wall packs: $300–$900 per fixture installed. Full-cutoff LED wall packs replacing old HID shoebox fixtures. Arlington's city code follows International Dark Sky Association guidelines for new commercial construction, which means full-cutoff fixtures are required to minimize light trespass and glare.

Retail and Restaurant

Arlington's retail corridors — Parks Mall area, Lincoln Square, Arlington Highlands — have specific lighting demands beyond basic illumination. Retail lighting is about product presentation, and that drives costs up.

New construction: $8–$12 per square foot. Track lighting, accent fixtures, display case lighting, and architectural elements. A 5,000 sq ft retail space runs $40,000–$60,000. High-CRI fixtures (90+ CRI) are standard for retail because they make merchandise look accurate under artificial light.

Retrofit: $4–$8 per square foot. Upgrading from halogen track to LED track, replacing fluorescent troffers, adding accent layers. Most retail retrofits include a lighting redesign, not just a fixture swap.

What Drives Cost Differences in Arlington

Four factors create the biggest cost swings on any Arlington commercial lighting project:

Ceiling height. Every installation above 15 feet requires lift equipment. Warehouses with 30+ foot clear heights need boom lifts at $1,200–$1,500/day plus a certified operator. A warehouse job that takes 5 days of lift time just added $6,000–$7,500 to your project.

Electrical panel capacity. Older Arlington buildings — especially in the established commercial areas near downtown and along Division Street — may not have sufficient panel capacity for modern LED controls and dimming systems. A panel upgrade adds $3,000–$8,000 depending on amperage.

Controls complexity. Basic occupancy sensors and photocells add 10–15% to the fixture cost. Full networked controls (nLight, DALI) with daylight harvesting, scheduling, and energy monitoring can add 25–40%. The controls investment typically pays for itself within 18 months through additional energy savings beyond what the LED fixtures alone provide.

Code compliance. Texas adopted the 2023 NEC, and Arlington enforces it. Commercial projects require electrical permits, and the inspection process adds 1–2 weeks to your timeline. Emergency and exit lighting must comply with NFPA 101 Life Safety Code — every commercial space needs emergency egress lighting with 90-minute battery backup.

Oncor Utility Rebates for Arlington Commercial LED Projects

Oncor Electric Delivery, which serves the Arlington area, offers commercial energy efficiency rebates that can offset 15–30% of your LED retrofit cost.

The current Oncor Commercial Solutions program offers prescriptive rebates for common lighting upgrades. Interior fixtures replacing T8 fluorescent with LED troffers or LED tubes qualify for $25–$50 per fixture. High-bay LED replacements for HID fixtures qualify for $50–$100 per fixture depending on wattage reduction. Exterior LED conversions from HID typically qualify for $40–$75 per fixture.

For larger projects, Oncor's Custom Program evaluates your specific energy savings and calculates rebates based on actual kWh reduction — typically $0.05–$0.12 per annual kWh saved. On a 50,000 sq ft warehouse retrofit that saves 200,000 kWh annually, that's a $10,000–$24,000 rebate.

The rebate application must be submitted before the project starts. Your electrical contractor should handle this as part of the project scope.

Timeline and Planning for Arlington Projects

Week 1–2: Site survey and lighting design. A qualified contractor walks the space, measures foot-candle levels, documents existing fixtures, and produces a photometric layout showing proposed fixture placement and light levels.

Week 2–3: Specification and pricing. Fixture selection, controls layout, and detailed pricing. If you're pursuing Oncor rebates, the pre-application goes in during this phase.

Week 3–4: Permit application. The City of Arlington Building Inspections department processes electrical permits within 5–10 business days for standard commercial lighting projects.

Week 4–6: Material procurement. LED fixtures from major manufacturers (Lithonia, RAB, Cree, Columbia) typically ship in 2–3 weeks for stock items.

Week 6–8: Installation. A 20,000 sq ft space takes 5–10 working days with a crew of 3–4 electricians. Most contractors schedule work during off-hours for occupied spaces.

Week 8–9: Inspection and commissioning. City inspection, controls programming, and final light level verification.

How to Get an Accurate Quote for Your Arlington Property

The numbers above are market ranges. Your actual cost depends on your specific building, and the only way to get a real number is a site survey. Don't accept a quote from any contractor who hasn't physically walked your space. Lighting is not a commodity you can price from a spreadsheet — ceiling height, reflectance values, obstruction locations, and electrical infrastructure all affect the design and cost.

Frequently Asked Questions