Guide · Circular lighting
Retain, reuse, remanufacture or replace: how to decide what to do with your lighting.
By Brian O'Reilly, CEO, EGG Lighting · Updated
Circular lighting means keeping light fittings and their materials in use for as long as they still do the job — and buying new only when the evidence says you should. For every fitting on an estate there are four options: retain it, reuse it, remanufacture it, or replace it with a new, repairable luminaire. The right answer depends on the fitting's condition, its lamp type, the space it serves, and the cost and carbon of each route — and it often varies within a single building.
The four options
Four routes for every fitting.
- 01
Retain
When it fits: The fitting is already LED, in good condition, and still meets the light levels and energy performance the space needs. Adding controls — presence detection, daylight dimming — can cut energy further without replacing anything.
Watch out: Fluorescent fittings can't be retained indefinitely: lamp supply is ending. See the fluorescent lamp ban.
- 02
Reuse
When it fits: A sound fitting can be cleaned and moved to a space that suits it better, stored for another project, or passed on for use elsewhere.
Watch out: Check it suits the light levels and glare control of its new location. If a fitting changes hands or is modified, its compliance may need to be reassessed.
- 03
Remanufacture
When it fits: The housing, diffuser and metalwork are sound — common with linear fluorescent fittings — and the fitting can be rebuilt to LED, re-tested, re-certified and documented as a new product, keeping most of its material and embodied carbon in the building. See BS 8887-221.
Watch out: It takes longer than buying off the shelf, because a sample is engineered and tested before the batch is built. Some fittings — many downlights, for example — aren't worth remanufacturing.
- 04
Replace
When it fits: The fitting is damaged, unsuitable for the space or a change of use, or remanufacture doesn't stack up on cost or programme.
Watch out: Specify new fittings with a replaceable light source and driver, so the next decision is easier — and ask suppliers for TM66 and TM65 evidence.
How to decide
Four questions, asked fitting by fitting.
1
Is it already LED, and does it still do the job?
If yes, retain it and look at controls. If it's LED but underperforming, consider remanufacture or replacement.
2
Is it in good physical condition, and right for how the space is used now?
If the space is changing use, the lighting design may need to change too — but fittings removed can still be reused or remanufactured elsewhere.
3
Can it be remanufactured at a sensible cost and lead time?
That depends on the fitting's construction and the quantity. A survey and a sample answer it; a catalogue can't.
4
If not, what should replace it?
New, repairable luminaires with circularity and carbon evidence — so the fitting you buy today can be upgraded rather than discarded next time.
Before any tender
Survey every fitting first — type, condition, lamp, emergency function, controls and location, recorded individually. That survey decides which route each fitting takes, and gives every supplier the same basis to price against. Our Lighting Decision Audit does exactly this.
The evidence
The standards behind each decision.
TM66 — how circular is a fitting?
Scores how easily a product can be repaired, upgraded and remanufactured.
Read the guide →TM65 — the carbon cost of new
Estimates the embodied carbon you add by buying a new fitting.
Read the guide →BS 8887-221 — remanufacturing done properly
Sets out how luminaires should be remanufactured, tested and documented.
Read the guide →BS 5266-1 — emergency lighting
Review emergency lighting separately on every project.
Read the guide →Easy to miss
Two things every lighting project should cover.
Emergency lighting
Any change to emergency luminaires is an upgrade under BS 5266-1:2025. Review the emergency scheme and its testing on every project, and consider automatic testing and monitoring when fittings are changed.
Disposal
Fluorescent lamps contain mercury and are special waste in Scotland. Whatever leaves the building should go through a registered carrier with the right paperwork — and anything that can be reused or remanufactured shouldn't be in the skip at all.
In practice
Decided on evidence, not habit.
2,116
fittings remanufactured at a 150,000 sq ft Aberdeen headquarters, with an estimated 149 tCO₂e of embodied carbon avoided (CIBSE TM65).
140
fittings on one sheltered housing scheme where we advised conventional new product instead — because that was the right answer.
Scotland's Circular Economy Strategy (2026) prioritises keeping existing assets in use in the built environment, and uses lighting as a worked example of circular procurement.
FAQ
Circular lighting questions
What is circular lighting?
Circular lighting is an approach to lighting that keeps fittings, components and materials in use for as long as possible — by retaining, reusing or remanufacturing existing fittings — and specifies new fittings that can be repaired and upgraded. It reduces waste and embodied carbon compared with replacing everything by default.
Is remanufactured lighting safe and compliant?
It should be. Remanufacturing a fitting — for example, converting it from fluorescent to LED — is a substantial modification, so the finished fitting should be tested against current luminaire safety standards, re-marked and supplied with its own documentation. BS 8887-221:2024 sets out how that process should be run.
Is remanufacturing cheaper than buying new?
Often, but not always. On our Edinburgh Leisure project, remanufacture came in around 40% below the cost of equivalent new products. Where fittings are complex, damaged or few in number, new can be the better value — which is why the decision should be made fitting by fitting.
How long does remanufacturing take?
Longer than buying off the shelf. A sample is usually engineered and tested before the full batch is built, so remanufacture needs to be planned into the programme from the start rather than added at the end.
Can I keep my fluorescent fittings?
Working fluorescent lighting isn't illegal, but the lamps are no longer made for the GB market, so supply is running down. Many fluorescent fittings are good candidates for remanufacture to LED; others are better replaced.
What should we do before a lighting tender?
Survey every fitting so you know what you have and its condition, decide which route each fitting should take, and ask suppliers for circularity (TM66) and embodied carbon (TM65) evidence alongside price.
Want the retain, reuse, remanufacture or replace answer for your own fittings? Our Lighting Decision Audit surveys every fitting and sets out the cost and carbon case for each route.
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