A warehouse is an essential part of an industrial area used to store goods and products. So, it is very important to illuminate the warehouse properly. There are lots of factors to consider when planning to change the lighting in your warehouse. Again, though, it should not be very complicated.
So we will make your task easier and tell you some best ways to illuminate your warehouse.
The best light sources!
We have three options for lighting up the warehouse, each with its pros and cons: high-intensity discharge (HID), fluorescent, and LEDs.
- High-intensity discharge (HID) lamps
- For a long time, HID lamps were the only option for illuminating the warehouses. They could still be, but that’s absolutely a wrong choice now.
- This type of lamp is known for the lowest initial cost. However, it also has the highest lumen depreciation rate with time and does not have many color temperatures.
- While the high-pressure sodium lamps have a color temperature of about 2200k to 2400k, which is very yellow in looks, the metal halide lamps have 4000k to 4500k, which is much whiter in color.
- This light takes flickering time and consumes a lot of energy. Maximum energy is wasted as heat, and it requires a cooling time after being turned off.
- Fluorescent Lights
- HID lightings have many drawbacks, so fluorescent lighting was the best replacement. It was a perfect choice for the lights having a low budget yet needing an energy-efficient solution.
- These lights have a much larger range of color temperatures, starting from 2700k to 6500k. They are also available in various sizes and shapes, giving you more options to illuminate your space.
- The drawback of using fluorescent light is their operating temperature constraints. They do not work efficiently in extremely cold or hot areas. The lighting of the warehouses which get very cold or hot will suffer.
- The lifespan of the fluorescent light also gets affected by frequent on/off, so it is not suggested to use these lights in the area that often turns the lights on and off.
- LED lights
- Overtaking these two lighting options, there comes the king of all lighting solutions for your warehouse, and that is LED lighting fixtures. LED warehouse lighting covers all the voids created by HID and fluorescent lights.
- They are highly energy-efficient and emit high-quality lighting. They have a long lifespan and can work efficiently for 50,000 hours, so you do not have to order the lights again and again.
- Unlike HID and fluorescent, they don’t degrade with constant on/off. They work best in cold temperatures; higher temperatures also do not affect them much.
- So, LED lights are now considered as the best lighting solution for warehouses. Among all the LED lights, High Bay LED lights are the most popular lights for illuminating warehouses.
How should the lighting fixture be?
The lighting effect of the warehouse also gets affected by other accessories like the color of ceilings and walls. This can make a huge difference in illuminating the warehouse. The ceilings and walls with lighter colors will reflect more light than dark colors, so you can use a fixture with a lower lumen output.
LED warehouse lighting has the feature of consuming less power, saving more money, and being energy-efficient. If your warehouse gets the natural light, you can illuminate it with the lower lumen output fixtures. To accomplish this, you will need to find a way to turn on fewer fixtures on sunny days. This can be done by wiring fixtures to multiple switches and turning on the fixtures you require.
Make sure your lighting fixture is not only bright but does not produce glare which can decrease the productivity of the warehouse or cause some warehouse accidents.
What are the best color temperatures?
Color temperature may not play an essential role while deciding the right light for the warehouse, but it can impact the visibility and productivity of the warehouse. For this, color temperatures between 4000k and 5000k are the perfect choice for warehouses.
This range of color temperature emits a cool white light known to reduce eye strain and create a productive work environment. And so, High Bay LED lights are actively used in warehouses and are a perfect choice for lightening up your warehouses.
What should be the position of LED lights?
The position of the lighting fixtures plays an important role in the perfect illumination of warehouses. If installed too close, they will create hot spots or glare, and the light from the two fixtures will overlap.
And if they are positioned too far, you will get dark areas in the warehouse, which are also known as “drop off” areas. So make sure to decide the position of the lighting fixture before purchasing or installing it. You can also consult a lighting professional to get better ideas for the position setup of the LED warehouse lights.
Some Extra Tips!
To properly illuminate large spaces like warehouses, occupancy and vacancy sensors can be a perfect choice. Using any one of these sensors for your LED lighting fixture can decrease the cost of wasted energy without a major update.
These sensors turn the lights on/off depending on someone’s movement in the space. They are designed to detect that the place is unoccupied and turn the lights off automatically. This advanced technology will save you a lot of money and energy.
2 comments
Hello, I must say that this is an excellent post. Your writing style is excellent for this kind of topic. Having warehouse lighting run 24/7 is a good point, so you have to make sure to use energy-efficient lighting. Thanks for your excellent article describing warehouse lighting and its cost.
Great share