Survey an existing outdoor-lighting scheme and distinguish a compatible replacement from a change that needs renewed design and approval.
A retrofit begins with the scheme that exists, not a list of new fittings. Record what the building needs to retain, what no longer works and which parts of the installation can be substantiated. The result may be a compatible component replacement, a revised lighting arrangement or a wider redesign.
Survey the existing asset
Identify fittings, engines, optics, brackets, cable routes, drivers, controls and access arrangements. Retain drawings, commissioning settings and document revisions where available. Distinguish an observed condition from a confirmed cause of failure.
An unlabelled component or incomplete drawing is an open question. Do not assume that years of operation establish present safety, compatibility or compliance.
Decide what the project is trying to improve
Separate maintenance need from a new architectural ambition. A failed fitting, changed façade, new event programme and inaccessible driver create different briefs. Record required ordinary-night and event scenes, principal viewpoints and the project's operational constraints.
Explore the existing Modaluce collection by task and format. Match the new proposal to the actual surface and mounting geometry rather than selecting by nominal wattage.
Test the boundary of a replacement
A compatible replacement must be supported by the relevant electrical, optical, mechanical and controls evidence. Similar housing dimensions do not prove the original fixing arrangement is suitable. A matching protocol label does not prove an old scene file will reproduce correctly.
Changes to engine, optic, output or aim may require revised calculations and sample review. Changes to mounting, penetrations or cable routes may need other project disciplines and approvals.
A retain-or-replace example
In a hypothetical courtyard, the owner wants an existing scene retained but the planting has matured. Record the original scene and survey the new obstructions before deciding that brighter fittings are required. Re-aiming, a revised location or a different distribution may be worth assessing. Any actual conclusion needs the site's geometry and appropriate evidence.
Use the landscape and retrofit review Excel workbook for the editable record, instructions, field guidance and fictional worked examples. The PDF companion provides a printable guide. All worked examples are fictional and are not project records, product-test results or accepted specifications.
Keep retained items, proposed changes and unresolved checks in separate fields.
Consider operation and access
Include isolation, maintenance access, replacement availability and controller-file ownership in the revised handover. Compare capital works and future access using equivalent scopes; do not promise savings from fitting wattage alone.
For constrained buildings, existing-infrastructure control feasibility may be one investigation, not an automatic solution. Use the commercial specification checklist to turn the accepted retrofit decision into a documented proposal.
