Read the original article in Data Centre Digest

By Brian Stern, CEO of CLIQ™ Modular Lighting

Data center developers are racing to deliver the physical backbone of the digital economy. Demand for capacity is surging, construction costs are rising, skilled labor is stretched, and every delayed week can carry real consequences for customers, investors, and competitive positioning.

That pressure has forced project teams to rethink almost every major input: power, cooling, land, permitting, procurement, commissioning, and supply chains. But one surprisingly important variable still often escapes scrutiny.

Lighting.

For decades, lighting has been treated as a routine construction task rather than a strategic project variable. The process is familiar: install temporary lighting during construction, bring in specialized electricians for high-voltage permanent systems, manage bulky components across a crowded job site, and absorb the labor hours as simply the cost of doing business.

In today’s data center market, that mindset is outdated. The question is no longer whether a lighting system works once the facility is operational. The question is whether the way it is installed helps the project come online faster — or quietly slows it down.

The Legacy Assumption Hiding in Plain Sight

Lighting installation has not fundamentally changed in decades. The same labor-intensive, multi-phase process that was standard practice in the 1990s is still what many contractors execute today: high-voltage wiring, specialized electricians, temporary construction lighting that eventually gets ripped out, and a permanent system installed later in the build.

For years, nobody questioned it because it was simply how things were done – and how lighting technology has always been.

In a slower construction environment, that kind of legacy process could be absorbed. In today’s data center market, it becomes a competitive liability.

Data center developers are not building ordinary facilities. They are building high-demand infrastructure where speed-to-delivery matters enormously. When capacity is needed quickly and capital is tied to aggressive schedules, every construction phase deserves scrutiny — especially the ones that have historically been treated as fixed and unavoidable.

Lighting is one of those phases.

Lighting Is Not Just a Fixture Package

The mistake is thinking about lighting only as a product decision. In reality, lighting affects labor planning, job-site logistics, construction sequencing, safety, and long-term operating costs.

Traditional systems can require significant high-voltage electrical work. That means dependence on licensed electricians at a time when skilled trades are already in short supply. For large-scale data center projects, that dependency is not just a budget consideration. It is a schedule risk.

Voltage classification also matters more than many project teams realize. High-voltage systems require a narrower pool of specialized labor. Class 2 low-voltage systems, by contrast, carry important safety and regulatory implications while allowing a broader range of workers to participate in installation. In a constrained labor environment, that flexibility can materially change the economics and timing of a project.

Then there is the temporary-to-permanent problem. Most builders accept it as inevitable: install temporary lighting so crews can work during construction, then remove it and install the permanent lighting system later. But that redundancy carries real labor costs, creates extra coordination, and adds another layer of complexity to already crowded job sites.

If a system can serve during construction and then transition into permanent operation, an entire phase of duplicated work can be reduced or eliminated. That is not just a minor improvement, but a whole new way of bringing efficiency to lighting large-scale spaces. On a large project, it can affect schedule, labor allocation, and cost.

Job-Site Waste Is a Schedule Issue

Anyone who has spent time around large construction projects knows how quickly inefficiency accumulates. Oversized packaging, excess pallets, complicated component management, and unnecessary material handling all consume time and space.

Too often, that waste is treated as normal.

But on a data center job site, normal is not good enough. These projects depend on tight coordination across trades, disciplined sequencing, a clean environment, and the ability to keep crews moving. A lighting system that ships smarter, stages more easily, and installs cleaner does more than reduce waste. It helps create a more efficient job site.

That matters because job-site efficiency is not separate from project speed. It is one of the ways speed is achieved.

The Installation Decision Follows the Facility for Years

There is also a long-term consequence to choices made during construction. Data centers operate continuously, which means energy efficiency is not a secondary consideration. A decision made during installation can shape operating costs for years.

That is why lighting should be evaluated across the full life of the facility, not just as an upfront construction expense. A system that reduces installation complexity and lowers long-term energy costs delivers value twice: first during the build, and then every day the facility is running.

For developers and owners, that distinction matters. The cheapest familiar option is not always the most cost-effective one. Sometimes the more expensive decision is continuing to repeat a legacy process simply because it is already embedded in the construction playbook.

The Bigger Lesson for Data Center Developers

The data center industry is building the infrastructure of the future. But too often, it is still relying on construction assumptions from the past.

That tension is becoming harder to ignore. Developers cannot control every external constraint. They cannot instantly solve power availability, permitting delays, supply chain disruptions, or the shortage of skilled labor. But they can control whether they continue to accept outdated processes inside the project itself.

Lighting is a useful example because it is easy to underestimate. It does not attract the same attention as power procurement or cooling technology. It is rarely the headline issue in a development plan. But when examined closely, it touches many of the things developers care about most: timeline, labor, cost, safety, waste, and operational performance.

That is why it belongs in the speed-to-market conversation.

A Challenge to Project Owners

The most expensive assumption in construction is not always the line item that looks too high. Sometimes it is the process nobody bothers to question.

For data center developers, lighting should be one of those questions.

How much specialized labor does the current approach require? How many hours are lost installing temporary systems that will later be removed? How much job-site complexity is being accepted as normal? What happens to the labor risk profile if low-voltage systems can be used? And what long-term operating costs are being locked in before the facility ever opens?

The developers who answer those questions honestly may find that lighting is not a minor construction detail. It is a hidden variable in schedule, labor, cost, and operational performance.

In a market where every project is looking for an edge, some of the most meaningful gains may come from challenging the assumptions that have been hiding in plain sight.

About the Author

Brian Stern is the CEO of 1LUX, a Denver-based lighting company, and the driving force behind CLIQ™ Modular Lighting, a Class 2 low-voltage system designed for faster, lower-cost construction in data centers and large-scale facilities. Learn more at CLIQLighting.com.