The effectiveness and productivity of your office can be greatly impacted by your choice of industrial LED high bay lighting. We at PacLights recognize the value of appropriate lighting in commercial environments.
The key elements to take into account when choosing high bay lights for your facility will be outlined in this article. We'll go over everything, from figuring out your lighting needs to assessing important elements that affect longevity and performance.
Industrial LED High Bay Lights: What Are They?
Meaning and Objective
A specialist lighting solution for areas with high ceilings (usually 20 to 45 feet) is industrial LED high bay lighting. These lights provide strong, consistent lighting, which is necessary for safety and efficiency in factories, warehouses, and big retail areas.
The Industrial Lighting Revolution using LEDs
Industrial lighting has changed as a result of LED technology. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LEDs can save up to 75% on energy consumption compared to conventional metal halide or fluorescent lighting. Industrial buildings might save $0.25 per square foot a year by upgrading to LED lighting, which would result in significant cost reductions.
LEDs are also quite long-lasting. According to the Illuminating Engineering Society, LED lighting fixtures frequently have an operational lifespan of over 50,000 hours, which is up to five times longer than traditional lighting solutions. This lessens the downtime and maintenance expenses related to frequent bulb changes.
Important Considerations for Choosing High Bay Lights
Take into account these important aspects while selecting industrial LED high bay lights:
Lumen Output: For maximum efficiency, look for fixtures that produce at least 100 lumens per watt. Choose lights that produce 16,000 to 20,000 lumens for ceilings that are 20 to 30 feet high.
Color Temperature: In task-oriented areas, workers are more productive with cooler color temperatures (5000K–6500K).
Beam Angle: In big rooms, fixtures with beam angles ranging from 120 to 140 degrees offer consistent illumination.
IP certification: To guarantee longevity against dust and moisture in industrial environments, use fixtures with an IP65 certification or above.
Dimming Capabilities: The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that lights with dimming options might save an additional 20–30% on energy costs.
Basics of Lighting Calculation
Use this calculation to figure out how many fittings your room needs:
(Desired Foot-Candles × Room Area) ÷ (Lumens per Fixture × Light Loss Factor) = Number of Fixtures
LED fixtures typically have a Light Loss Factor (LLF) between 0.7 and 0.8. Lighting levels in industrial locations should normally be between 10 and 20 foot candles for general regions and between 50 and 100 foot candles for specialist operations.
Fixtures should be spaced 1 to 1.5 times the mounting height for best coverage. This method guarantees consistent lighting without wasting energy on overlighting or producing gloomy areas.
After learning the fundamentals of industrial high bay LED lights, let's examine how to assess your facility's unique lighting needs.
How to Assess Your Space Requirements for Industrial Lighting
Measure the size of your facility to begin your assessment. Add the floor area, the ceiling height, and any obstacles like shelving or machinery. An open production floor with 20-foot ceilings will require different lighting than a warehouse with 30-foot ceilings and sophisticated racking systems.
Determine which task areas need more light. For ordinary warehouse facilities, the Illuminating Engineering Society suggests 30 to 50 foot candles; however, for sophisticated assembly operations, up to 100 foot candles are recommended. To identify areas that require improvement, measure the present light levels with a light meter.
Calculating Lumens
Use the following formula to determine the total lumens required:
Desired foot-candles × floor area (in square feet) equals total lumens.
For instance, 300,000 lumens would be needed in a 10,000 square foot warehouse that requires 30 foot candles. To calculate how many lights are required, divide this by the lumen output of the fixtures you have selected.
When putting fixtures, take into account patterns of light dispersion. The beam angle of the majority of high bay LEDs ranges from 120 to 140 degrees. For even coverage, place fixtures one to one and a half times the mounting height apart. This entails spacing lights 20–30 feet apart for a 30-foot ceiling.
CRI and Color Temperature
The comfort and productivity of employees are greatly impacted by color temperature. Cooler temperatures (5000K–6500K) are frequently preferred in industrial settings because they enhance visibility and attentiveness.
Equally significant is the Color Rendering Index (CRI), particularly in issues pertaining to quality control. For the majority of industrial applications, try to choose fixtures with a CRI of 80 or above. A CRI of 90 or higher could be necessary for some jobs, such as color matching in the textile manufacturing industry.
Environmental Aspects
Take into account the particular environmental circumstances of your organization. The longevity and performance of lighting can be impacted by variables like temperature changes, dust, and humidity. To guarantee endurance and durability, choose fixtures with the proper IP ratings (IP65 or higher for damp or dusty settings, for example).
Controls and Energy Efficiency
Examine the possibility of energy savings with smart controls and energy-efficient fixtures. The U.S. Department of Energy claims that LED high bays can save up to 75% on energy use when compared to conventional lighting. To further optimize energy use, include daylight harvesting systems and occupancy sensors.
After determining your lighting requirements, let's examine the essential characteristics of LED high bay lights that will help you achieve your goals.
Important characteristics of industrial spaces' LED high bay lights
Efficiency of Energy: In industrial lighting, power of lumens per watt and energy efficiency are of utmost importance. At least 130 lumens per watt are produced by the most efficient LED high bay lights. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, this efficiency level can save up to 75% on energy use when compared to conventional metal halide or fluorescent choices.
The lumens per watt of some state-of-the-art LED high bay lights can exceed 200. This results in significant financial savings. For example, a 100,000 square foot warehouse might save more than $50,000 a year on energy costs if it converts from metal halide to high-efficiency LED high bays.
Tough lighting fixtures are necessary in industrial settings. The strongest high bay lights have sturdy construction and are frequently composed of premium aluminum that has been powder-coated. This mixture can withstand tough industrial environments and resist corrosion.
Water and dust intrusion are prevented by fixtures with an IP65 grade or higher. Performance is maintained in humid or dusty environments thanks to this protection. For outdoor applications or food processing facilities, even higher rated lights (IP66 or IP67) may be needed.
Longevity: Improving the Quality of Maintenance and Downtime LED high bay lights ought to last for at least fifty thousand hours. High-end models have a 100,000-hour lifespan. This longer lifespan drastically reduces replacement-related maintenance expenses and downtime.
Heat shortens the lifespan and performance of LEDs. It becomes crucial to manage heat effectively, particularly in industrial settings with high ceilings where heat builds up.
Modern heat sink designs are a feature of the greatest fixtures. The fixture body's fins or ridges aid in better heat dissipation. When compared to conventional aluminum heat sinks, some manufacturers' heat sinks can boost heat dissipation by as much as 50% by using cutting-edge materials like graphene.
Because passive cooling systems don't have any moving parts that could break, they are more reliable than active ones. High-end models with tiny, silent fans for active cooling, however, might be advantageous for excessively hot situations or fixtures with very high outputs.
Your lighting setup's utility and efficiency can be significantly increased by integrating it with smart control systems. At the very least, look for fixtures that can dim from 0 to 10V. This enables integration with occupancy sensors and simple brightness adjustment.
Consider fixtures that are compatible with wireless control systems or protocols such as DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) for more sophisticated capabilities. These give you fine-grained control over individual lights or groups of lights, enabling techniques like occupancy-based lighting and daylight harvesting.
Proprietary control systems are provided by certain manufacturers. These may limit future flexibility even though they can offer seamless integration. In general, open standards-based systems are more compatible with other construction systems and provide greater long-term flexibility.
Concluding remarks
The effectiveness, safety, and financial success of your facility are all impacted by the industrial LED high bay lighting you choose. You need to assess how much room you need, figure out how many lumens you'll need, and take color temperature and CRI into account. To get the most out of your lighting investment, energy economy, endurance, durability, thermal management, and interoperability with smart controls are all essential.
When compared to conventional lighting systems, high-quality LED fixtures can save up to 75% on energy use (U.S. Department of Energy). This results in reduced carbon emissions and utility costs. These lamps' longer lifespan results in fewer replacements and lower maintenance expenses, and better light quality raises worker safety and productivity.
Professional knowledge is frequently beneficial due to the complexity of industrial lighting. PacLights provides complete lighting solutions designed to meet a range of industrial requirements. To assist you in making an informed choice for your unique needs, their staff offers complimentary lighting scheme ideas and ROI evaluations.
