Commercial & Industrial LED Lighting 101

Getting the Best ROI on Your Lighting Investment with LEDs

LEDs now use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 25 times longer. Not only that, they reduce HVAC energy usage due to having significantly lower heat levels than HIDs.

In an environment like a warehouse, where the lights have to stay on the majority of the time, optimizing your warehouse lighting is one of the best steps you can take to protect your bottom line. 

Lighting Upgrades vs. Relamp

If you’re looking to upgrade the lights in your facility to LEDs, you have a couple of different options:

Read this article about the pros and cons of relamping projects or contact our team for more insights.

Knowing Where to Start with Your Commercial Lighting

When it comes to lighting your operations, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Every commercial space has unique needs, including making sure there is enough light to help people spot hazards, read labels, and protect quality and production levels. This all needs to happen without wasting energy (and therefore money) lighting the wrong parts of the building. You’ll want more light where customers will be viewing merchandise, compared with storage areas (though you have to give workers enough light to do their jobs!).

Selecting the right LED lights for your layout ensures that you achieve the required illumination type and intensity at each part of the building, while eliminating waste.
This efficiency comes in the form of reduced energy consumption, lower maintenance costs, and increased control and customization.

Basics of LED Lighting

It’s useful to understand that while light can create strong feelings in people, achieving the desired result is based in science. Like any other aspect of your operations, understanding how to measure it is critical to knowing its impact on your bottom line.

Here are the quantifiable aspects of light:

These metrics help you understand if people have enough light to perform their jobs safely and efficiently, or if customers will have the right amount of light to feel comfortable shopping. We also have a glossary of key lighting terms that may help you as you research your solution. 

How To Select the Right LED Products for your Workplace Lighting Requirements

Lighting for industrial and commercial spaces requires having the right tools for the job. It means understanding the technical aspects of the lighting products, but also understanding the quantity and quality of light required in each part of your facility. This involves everything from making sure order pickers can easily read labels to increasing forklift safety with additional lights. There are several factors that determine how many lights you’ll need to achieve the correct result. 

Some industries, like food and beverage processing, have specific requirements for lighting equipment to protect against contamination and disease. Other hazardous conditions mean you have to opt for explosion-proof fixtures and lights or use wet location light fixtures. 

It’s worth noting that more light isn’t automatically better. Too much light can become overpowering, which makes it harder to function in any given space and creates discomfort. That’s why establishing the correct foot candles for each part of your space is important. 

Light Fixtures for Commercial and Industrial Use

One of the main advantages of LED solutions for industrial and commercial buildings is their inherent flexibility. No matter what recommended lighting levels you need to achieve, there is a way to achieve it and reduce your energy costs at the same time.

The shape, output, and location of your chosen light fixtures all have a large impact on the end result. Higher ceilings require more lumens to achieve the same foot candle levels on a factory floor.

Top Commercial and Industrial Products

Getting the Desired Effect from Your LED Commercial and Industrial Lights

Industrial LED lighting is a powerful tool, one that can be used in a variety of ways. How you combine different types of light bulbs and fixtures will ensure that you have the coloration and brightness you need in each part of your building, to ensure your workforce is safe and productive and customers feel comfortable.

Power and Required Lumen Output

There are a couple of different metrics that will help inform your decision making. It’s critical to have the correct foot candles at each location, based on the specifics of your industry (which can vary greatly based on the exact type of work being conducted).  

The beam angle, placement of the light fixture and distance to the area,  as well as the lightness or reflectiveness of other surfaces (or presence of windows), will contribute to the required Lumens output for your application. 

Beam Angle

The beam angle refers to the angle at which the light is emitted. You may also hear this referred to as “light distribution” or “beam spread.” The wider the beam angle, the more power is needed to achieve the same brightness (foot candles or lux) at any given part of your facility. 

Walls, Floors, and Ambient Light

The color, brightness, and sheen of the surfaces in your building all impact the lighting solution you need. For example, if you have large windows or skylights, you might not need as many luminaires to achieve the desired effect. If your floors have reflective epoxy or other treatments, you need to make sure you don’t end up with a glare that could irritate your workers and make them less efficient. 

Dark walls and floors will absorb light from your systems, while lighter colors will reflect it back, which can make an enormous difference in how your space looks and feels, which in turn impacts your operations.

Other Considerations for your Commercial LED Lighting

You also may need to account for keeping the effect of the light the same across different parts of the building, which may require some thought and planning.

Benefits of LEDs Lights in Industrial Use

Commercial lighting is a big part of your operations for both employee and customer experience. The long lifespan of LED lights frees up your maintenance team from having to change out bulbs constantly. Consistent, high-quality light means your workers are able to avoid eye strain that makes them feel tired. In addition to keeping your operations lean and productive, lighting is a significant variable in workplace safety. People need to be able to see clearly, to avoid distractions, avoid and clean up spills, protect themselves from hazards, and focus on operating their machinery. That’s why OSHA has outlined specific requirements for workplace lighting standards. 

Something as simple as the color temperature can increase productivity and worker wellness. The benefits of natural light are well documented, but not every organization has the luxury of providing large swaths of windows, if that’s even safe or advisable. 

How you light your facilities is a key part of how your organization manages resources and cares for employees and customers. You don’t want to rely on outdated or substandard solutions. 

Contact our team today to learn what products will help you make the most of your lights.