A commercial lighting RFQ is most useful when every supplier receives the same defined scope, current drawings, clear fixture and electrical assumptions, and consistent response requirements. Include project details, covered areas, quantities or quantity assumptions, mounting and control conditions, delivery phases, requested documents, and known exclusions. If spacing or performance is uncertain, request a photometric layout and provide the inputs needed to evaluate it. This practical commercial lighting RFQ checklist helps contractors, facility managers, and procurement teams request quotes that suppliers can price and compare without filling in different gaps.
Set the Project Facts That Control Pricing
Start with a short project header that tells every supplier what is being priced: project name and address, included buildings or rooms, scope type, bid contact, response deadline, approval or submittal milestone, desired release date, delivery phases, and requested response format. Also state whether the request is budgetary, firm, or conditional, along with purchase order, freight, tax, and alternate expectations. These details help suppliers price the same scope, but they do not replace the technical information below.
Separate New Construction From Retrofit Scope
Distinguish the available documentation and permitted assumptions for each project type:
- New construction: Identify the planned spaces, design basis, fixture tags or roles, and governing drawings. State which fixtures are required and which are alternates.
- Whole-site retrofit: Identify the included buildings or areas, existing-system constraints, replacement intent, and known control or mounting conditions.
- Replacement-only work: Say whether the supplier should price a direct replacement, an application-based alternative, or both. An alternative may require a layout, different mounting hardware, control review, or field verification.
For retrofit work, flag unknown existing conditions instead of letting each supplier assume a different installation method. A direct-replacement price and an application-based replacement are not automatically equivalent scopes.
Define the Bid Timeline and Delivery Phases
Put the schedule in chronological order so suppliers can understand the commercial basis of their response:
- Response deadline.
- Approval, submittal, or design-review milestone.
- Desired purchase order or release date.
- Required on-site delivery date or dates.
If buildings, floors, or fixture groups will be released separately, identify the quantity and delivery phase for each. Ask suppliers to confirm pricing and availability by phase rather than rolling a phased project into one unexplained total. If taxes, freight, or purchase order requirements are not yet settled, label them as open commercial assumptions.
Attach the Drawings and Documents Behind the Request
Attach current, revision-labeled documents that show where fixtures go, what conditions they serve, and how they connect to the electrical and control scope. Name the governing plan or specification revision and identify the exact areas to price. Current governing drawings, schedules, and control documents provide a practical coordination model; they do not establish a universal legal form.
Identify the Drawings Suppliers Should Price From
Use a document handoff checklist focused on revision, area, location, and installation conditions:
- Governing floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, elevations, and site or exterior drawings, with revision dates.
- Fixture schedules and tags that match the plans.
- Electrical plans showing relevant circuits, panels, voltage information, or control zones when available.
- Room names, aisle layouts, ceiling or mounting heights, obstructions, and installation locations.
- Clearly marked RFQ areas, exclusions, and any areas requiring a separate alternate.
For exterior work, include site plans and elevations when fixture placement, aiming, access, or surrounding conditions could affect the response. If a drawing or record is missing, flag it for site verification rather than allowing suppliers to price from an unknown revision.
Package Fixture Schedules and Existing Conditions
Label each attachment by project area, revision, and purpose. A useful lighting fixture quote request documents package might look like this:
| Document Or File | What It Should Show | Especially Useful When |
|---|---|---|
| Fixture schedule or prior cut sheet | Tags, fixture roles, quantities, and known performance requirements | Existing schedules or specified models are available |
| Electrical plan or panel information | Available power context, circuits, and relevant electrical conditions | Voltage, phase, or circuit scope may affect the quote |
| Reflected ceiling plan | Fixture locations, ceiling type, heights, and obstructions | Layout, mounting, or access is part of the decision |
| Existing-fixture photos and dimensions | Housing, mounting, labels, condition, and surrounding constraints | The project is a retrofit or replacement |
| Control schedule or field control records | Sensors, switching, dimming, emergency operation, and control zones | Existing controls must remain, change, or be investigated |
| Prior submittals or product records | Installed products, approved deviations, and unresolved history | The current site differs from the latest drawing set |
A related lighting compliance documents resource can help organize the package, but treat it as a checklist aid rather than proof that every listed file is required. The exact package depends on the project type, available records, and responsible design requirements.
Specify the Fixture and Electrical Conditions That Change the Quote
Define each fixture by what it must do and where it will operate, not just by product name or wattage. State the application, distribution, output or wattage target, color requirements, dimensions, mounting, voltage, controls, emergency operation, environmental exposure, and required documentation. Separate fixture, accessory, control, and installation assumptions so a nominally similar price does not conceal a different scope.
Define Fixture Roles and Mounting Conditions
Use this input matrix for each fixture role or area:
| Input | Examples To Specify | Pricing Or Layout Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Application and output | Office, aisle, high-bay, exterior, task area; target output or wattage | Changes the candidate fixture class and comparison basis |
| Distribution and dimensions | Distribution type, length, housing dimensions, color requirements | Affects spacing, coverage, appearance, and physical fit |
| Mounting condition | Suspended, surface, pendant, wall, pole, or existing hardware | May add hardware, labor assumptions, or compatibility questions |
| Height and obstructions | Mounting height, ceiling or structure, beams, racks, ducts | Can change selection, spacing, aiming, and layout results |
| Required components | Mounts, reflectors, sensors, emergency parts, accessories | Prevents accessory scope from disappearing inside a lump sum |
If substitutions are allowed, require the supplier to identify the proposed fixture and explain any deviation from the stated role or installation condition. A different wattage or lumen figure alone does not establish equivalent coverage, distribution, fit, or project acceptance.
Lock Voltage, Controls, and Emergency Requirements
Group the electrical and control inputs so suppliers can address them separately:
- Available voltage and phase.
- Switching, dimming, sensor, occupancy, and daylight-control method.
- Existing controls that must remain, be replaced, or be investigated.
- Emergency operation, emergency components, and required operating intent.
- Control components, wiring assumptions, commissioning, and compatibility conditions.
Ask suppliers to price control components and related assumptions separately from the fixture. This matters especially in retrofits, where a replacement-only price may not include new controls, compatibility investigation, or commissioning.
Flag Indoor, Exterior, and Harsh-Environment Conditions
Describe moisture, dust, temperature, washdown, corrosive exposure, impact risk, outdoor location, and other operating conditions before inviting substitutions. If a rating, certification, project standard, or emergency requirement matters, name it as a project requirement and ask for the applicable product documentation. A general marketing description, efficiency designation, or product rating does not by itself prove that the proposed fixture meets the project's complete compliance or installation requirements.
Decide When the RFQ Needs a Photometric Layout
Use a product-only quote when the replacement or product list is defined and the application, mounting, and performance conditions are already known. Add a photometric layout when spacing, mounting height, aisle orientation, distribution, uniformity, glare, or target performance could change the buying decision. Request project assistance when the drawings, existing conditions, controls, or project criteria need interpretation beyond a product list.
- Quote only: Use when the scope and application are defined and the supplier is pricing identified products or a clearly bounded replacement.
- Quote plus layout: Use when fixture placement or stated performance remains uncertain and the supplier can evaluate defined assumptions.
- Project assistance: Use when the information itself needs interpretation or the deliverable must coordinate controls, existing conditions, installation, or project requirements.
Prepare the Inputs for a Layout Request
Send more than a request to “provide a lighting plan.” Include:
- A scaled or dimensioned plan, room or site dimensions, and the areas to calculate.
- Fixture locations or proposed counts, mounting heights, ceiling conditions, and obstructions.
- Aisle orientation, existing light locations, aiming or orientation information where relevant, and the proposed fixture configuration.
- The performance question, such as whether the comparison concerns spacing, distribution, uniformity, glare, or another stated project criterion.
- The intended deliverable: preliminary comparison, bid support, submittal review, or field-verification aid.
For exterior work, also identify the applicable local review criteria and whether the supplier is placing fixtures on a prepared site plan. Make the layout's purpose clear before the supplier begins.
Use IES Data and Layout Evidence Carefully
Ask which IES file or fixture configuration the calculation uses, along with mounting height, calculation area, aiming or orientation assumptions, and exclusions. Layout inputs such as fixture locations and mounting heights help define the conditions behind a photometric result. The IES file, mounting height, and calculation assumptions used should be identified rather than treated as interchangeable.
Use the returned layout to compare the stated conditions and performance question. It does not by itself settle code, electrical, structural, controls, installation, or final design approval. A related high-bay lighting layout resource may help organize the request, but project-specific acceptance remains with the responsible owner, designer, engineer, or authority having jurisdiction.
Close the Open Decisions Before Sending the RFQ
Create an open-decisions register before release. For every unknown, record the permitted assumption, owner, due date, and pricing or layout effect. This makes uncertainty visible instead of allowing suppliers to resolve the same gap in conflicting ways.
List the Assumptions That Can Create Change Orders
Use one register for unresolved items such as:
- Fixture counts, mounting hardware, voltage, controls, and emergency operation.
- Environmental exposure, demolition, disposal, labor, freight, taxes, and phased delivery.
- Missing existing-condition records, site verification, and access assumptions.
- Required scope versus alternates or value-engineering options.
Price alternates separately from required scope. A lower total is not comparable if it omits control components, mounting hardware, demolition, documentation, or another required item.
Request a Comparable Response Package
Ask each supplier to return the same fields in the same general order:
- Line-item fixture identifiers, quantities, unit pricing, extended pricing, and accessories.
- Proposed cut sheets, photometric files or layout, applicable certifications or project documentation, and stated fixture or control configuration.
- Lead-time basis, freight or delivery terms, warranty basis, taxes, and other commercial assumptions.
- Exclusions, substitutions, alternates, deviations, and unresolved questions.
- Recommended next action, such as clarification, site verification, revised layout, or submittal review.
Separating fixture, component, and control scope follows the structure used in institutional lighting specifications, but it is a comparability practice rather than a mandatory quote form. Before comparing totals, confirm that quantities reconcile to fixture tags or areas, attachments are current, the layout question is explicit, open decisions have owners, and every response uses the same delivery and approval basis.
FAQs
A commercial lighting RFQ is easier to evaluate when the scope, documents, technical inputs, and response fields are consistent. Use these questions to check the remaining gaps before you send the request.
Can I Send a Commercial Lighting RFQ Without Final Fixture Quantities?
Yes. Label it budgetary or preliminary, state the quantity assumptions, and identify what would trigger repricing, such as a revised schedule, layout, or field count.
What Drawings Do Lighting Suppliers Need for a Retrofit Quote?
Provide current plans, marked RFQ areas, fixture information, existing-condition photos and dimensions, mounting details, and available electrical or control records. Flag missing records for site verification.
When Should I Request a Photometric Layout With a Lighting Quote?
Request one when spacing, mounting height, distribution, glare, uniformity, or another stated performance criterion could change the selection. Include the dimensioned plan, mounting data, fixture assumptions, calculation area, and performance question.
How Should Suppliers Show Substitutions in a Commercial Lighting Quote?
Require the proposed fixture, role, output, distribution, voltage, controls, mounting, environmental basis, documentation, warranty basis, delivery basis, and deviations. Price alternates separately from required scope.
What Should I Do When Existing Controls Have No Control Schedule?
Ask for available photos, identifiers, wiring information, operating requirements, and a site-verification assumption. Request separate pricing for replacement-only work, new controls, commissioning, and compatibility investigation.
Send the completed commercial lighting RFQ with one current document set, one assumption register, and one response format. If layout, controls, or existing-condition questions remain open, request conditional project assistance and ask the supplier to identify what is needed before firming up the response.
