IES Industrial and Commercial Recommended Light Levels

When shopping for industrial or commercial lighting, you must determine the amount needed and the appropriate light levels. This will depend on the type of business, size of the space, and more. Creating the right intensity with the fixtures you install ensures uniform, consistent lighting. Otherwise, you risk overly bright light or not enough light, which can create visible hot spots. Keep reading to learn the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recommendations for various industrial and commercial spaces.

What is the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES)? 

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), founded in 1906, has worked to increase the knowledge and technological advancement of illumination. The IES works to inform the public of the best lighting practices to meet visual and aesthetic needs. As stated on their website, the IES is “... an accredited Standards Development Organization (SDO) under American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved procedures.” The organization features various lighting professionals working towards quality lighting design in every space. 

What Are the Recommended Lighting Levels for Various Industrial and Commercial Spaces? 

Before you begin purchasing lighting for your application, you need to know the necessary light levels. The IES has published the information for this in their Lighting Handbook. The handbook provides an extensive list of suggested lighting levels for commercial and industrial spaces, including warehouses, hospitals, schools, and more. These recommendations are in foot-candles and lux values.

• Lux: Lumens per square meter.

• Footcandles: Lumens per square foot.

• Lumen: A measurement that describes the amount of light produced by a bulb or fixture.

The graphic below includes various IES-recommended commercial and industrial lighting levels. 

How Do These Numbers Translate to Lumens?

While these values come in footcandles and lux, you will notice when shopping for fixtures that most list the lumen count. Therefore, you will need to calculate the total amount of lumens needed for the installation area.

You can do this by multiplying the square footage of the area by the recommended footcandles. Then, divide by the number of fixtures you want to install to determine the needed lumen value for each fixture. Or, if you know the fixture you want to use, divide the total lumen value by the fixture’s lumen count to get the number of fixtures needed.

• Let's use this 60W UFO High Bay with 6,900 lumens as an example. If you were installing this in a gymnasium, you would first measure the square footage. For this example, let’s say it’s 8,000 ft2. Using the 10 fc recommendations from above, you would multiply 8,000 x 10 and get 80,000 lumens.

• Then, divide the 80,000 by the fixture’s 6,900 lm and get 11.5. This shows you will need to install 12 of these high bays to get the desired light level. 

• However, if you don’t know what fixture you're using, but are planning to install 10, just divide the 80,000 lumens by 10. The 8,000 result means you need to install 10 fixtures that emit 8,000 lumens each.

Does IES Have Recommended Lighting Levels for Sports Lighting?

Yes, IES has set recommended lighting levels for sports arenas and complexes, both indoors and outdoors. Sports venues and arenas are broken into four classifications, based on the number of spectators they can hold. 

• Class I: Arenas able to hold over 5,000 spectators. 

• Class II: Arenas able to hold under 5,000 spectators.

• Class III: Arenas able to hold up to 2,000 spectators. 

• Class IV: Arenas with little to no room for spectators. 

Refer to the graphic below for the footcandles recommendations based on the sport type and classification size.   

How Do I Calculate the Amount of Fixtures Needed for My Installation? 

Many factors affect the number of fixtures you need to install for your installation area. We’ve listed some of these below.

Ceiling Height 

If your installation area has higher ceilings, install more fixtures to guarantee there is sufficient, evenly distributed light coverage. The farther a light is from the ground, the wider the beam angle will be, but at a much lower intensity. Beams are brightest in their centers and fade as light spreads outward. For example, a light installed 15 feet high will have a wider beam spread than a light 6 feet high, but fewer footcandles will reach the ground. Beam distance can also change based on surface/wall reflectivity.

This also correlates with the area size of the location. 

Area Size

A larger installation area requires more fixtures. For lighting to be effective, it must be uniform throughout the area, without areas of hotspots or excessive brightness. For example, if you had a 100-square-foot commercial kitchen needing 50,000 lumens, you wouldn’t install two 25,000-lumen fixtures due to inconsistent lighting and hotspots.  On the other hand, installing too many fixtures can cause eye strain or glare. You should consider the layout and different product options. 

One way to figure out the proper spacing and amount of fixtures is by using the photometric PDF files found on the specific product pages. These diagrams, pictured below, show foot-candles and lux produced by a fixture when mounted at different ceiling heights. They also show beam distance, which is the area covered by the light from the point of 50 percent intensity on both sides. This data can help you interpret how far apart you should place your lights based on your ceiling height and area size.

To get a more accurate estimate for the number of lights you’ll need, you can call one of our commercial account representatives. These representatives use lighting design programs and go a bit more in-depth with you to account for different factors that might affect your lighting. 

Horizontal vs. Vertical Illuminance

Consider if your installation area has areas requiring horizontal or vertical illumination. 

Horizontal Illuminance refers to light spread on a horizontal surface. This often refers to general overhead lighting styles, such as illuminating workspaces in offices or above assembly lines for increased safety and visibility. Vertical Illuminance refers to light spread on a vertical surface. Examples of using this illumination include throughout high warehouse shelving to increase visibility of products and barcodes, or for product offerings in retail stores to be best seen and enhance merchandising appeal.

How Will Switching to LEDs Affect Lighting Levels?

The recommended light levels don’t change when you switch to LEDs, but the number of fixtures you need can. LEDs operate using significantly less energy than traditional fixtures. This means that an LED fixture can create a greater light output than a fluorescent, HID, etc, fixture at a much lower wattage. Therefore, you will be able to install fewer fixtures, cutting down installation costs. The energy efficiency will also save you money on electricity bills and replacement costs.     

If you have existing fixtures that you want to replace with LEDs, you will need to shop based on the equivalent wattage. Since LEDs will have a lower wattage than your current fixture, shopping based on equivalent wattage ensures you're choosing a fixture that emits the same lumens as your existing fixture. 

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We carry many industrial and commercial-grade light fixtures for various applications, including high bays, panel lights, strip light fixtures, and stadium and sports field lights. For assistance shopping for the right product, or for other product questions, reach out to our team of product support specialists at 866-590-3533 or by filling out this contact form.