Warehouse lighting is one of the highest priority areas where enough attention should be put to save time and money. Timely research on where and how many lights to install can save you a lot of hassle later on.
Properly lighting up a warehouse needs a lot of meticulous attention and planning to be executed perfectly. Therefore it is preferable to consult a lighting professional in order to solve this puzzle. However, for the time being, we are bringing you this guide to help you decide how many high bay lights does your warehouse needs.
Now, there are two types of installation that can happen, one a retrofit installation where you are replacing your old metal halide fixtures and the other being a fresh installation where you take up the installation process from the scratch.
How to determine in a retrofit installation
In a retrofit installation, the equivalency of an LED High bay light takes centerstage as being energy efficient, LED lights take up much less energy to deliver the same kind of lighting output as a high power metal halide would.
For example, a 400 watt LED high bay light produces the same amount of light as a 1000 watt metal halide fixture. Therefore, in a warehouse where the total lighting requirement is of 4000 watts, instead of four high bay lights of 1000 watt each, we would install four high bay LED lights of 400 watt each
How to determine in a new installation
The height of the ceiling in the warehouse decides what kind of lumen output you will need.
At 10-15 feet you will need a light that gives 10,000-15,000 lumens
At 15-20 feet you’ll need a light that will give 16,000 to 20,000 lumens
At 25-35 feet you’ll need a light that will give 33,000 lumens
Along with the lumens, wattage increases.
Keeping the right amount of space between the lights is also an essential aspect as mismeasuring this would either lead to an overcrowded ceiling leading to a wastage of money and in the other case it would lead to a lack of proper lighting.
As a yardstick, at a height of 15 feet, about 12 feet of space is ideal for a bright light. Normal light can be attained with a space of 15 feet instead of 12. Similarly, at a height of 20 feet, a spacing of 15 feet will give bright light and 18 feet will give normal light. At 30 feet, 20 feet of space between the lights will out a bright light whereas 25 feet will give out normal light.
But it is best that an LED Warehouse Lighting professional looks at your warehouse and your requirements before you proceed with the installation and purchase.