Lighting BOQ & Tender Preparation — Quantity Estimation for Projects
How to prepare accurate Bills of Quantities and professional tender documents for lighting projects.
BOQ Structure for Lighting
A professional lighting Bill of Quantities (BOQ) itemizes every component needed for procurement and installation. Typical BOQ sections: 1. Luminaires: Each fixture type listed with tag, description, quantity, unit rate, and total. 2. Lamps/LED modules: If separately supplied (rare for modern LED, but common for retrofit projects). 3. Control gear: Drivers, ballasts, and transformers if not integral to the luminaire. 4. Controls: DALI controllers, sensors, switches, panels, gateways, software licenses. 5. Wiring accessories: Cable, conduit, junction boxes, fire barriers for recessed fittings. 6. Installation: Labour for each fixture type (rates vary by mounting type: recessed, surface, suspended, in-ground). 7. Commissioning: Programming, aiming, scene setting, photometric verification. 8. Spares: Typically 5-10% spare luminaires and 10% spare drivers/modules.
BOQ Example — Office Floor
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | DL-01 | Recessed LED Downlight 15W 4000K DALI | 86 | Nr |
| 1.2 | LP-01 | Recessed LED Panel 600x600 40W 4000K DALI | 42 | Nr |
| 1.3 | LL-01 | Suspended Linear LED 1200mm 35W Direct/Indirect | 28 | Nr |
| 1.4 | WW-01 | LED Wall Washer 12W Adjustable | 16 | Nr |
| 2.1 | CTRL-01 | DALI-2 Gateway 64-device | 4 | Nr |
| 2.2 | CTRL-02 | PIR Occupancy Sensor DALI | 24 | Nr |
| 2.3 | CTRL-03 | Daylight Photosensor DALI | 8 | Nr |
| 2.4 | CTRL-04 | 4-Button Scene Panel | 12 | Nr |
| 3.1 | — | Installation (recessed fixtures) | 144 | Nr |
| 3.2 | — | Installation (suspended fixtures) | 28 | Nr |
| 4.1 | — | Commissioning and scene programming | 1 | LS |
| 5.1 | — | Spare luminaires (5%) | 9 | Nr |
| 5.2 | — | Spare drivers (10%) | 18 | Nr |
Tender Evaluation Criteria
When evaluating lighting tenders, use a weighted scoring system: • Technical compliance (40%): Do proposed products meet all specification requirements? Check IES files, TM-30 data, flicker reports, warranty, IP/IK ratings. • Price (30%): Total cost including supply, delivery, installation, commissioning, and spares. • Manufacturer quality (15%): Track record, local support, warranty infrastructure, reference projects in the region. • Delivery timeline (10%): Can the manufacturer deliver within the project schedule? Lead times for custom finishes or non-standard items. • Sustainability (5%): Environmental certifications, recycled content, recyclability, energy labeling. Never select on price alone — the cheapest tender in lighting almost always results in substituted products, poor quality, commissioning issues, and premature failures.