| rcial warehouse lighting must take a number of | | | | purchase that won’t deteriorate or need |
| factors into account to be truly cost effective and | | | | constant replacement. Although many people find the |
| functionally supportive of operations and labor. | | | | yellowish light they produce annoying, they are still |
| Foremost on the list of consideration is lighting levels. | | | | used extensively in areas where color rendering is not |
| Visibility is necessary to both ensure smooth process | | | | important. RLLD Commercial Lighting’s |
| flow and worker safety. In commercial warehouse | | | | selection of high bay HPS lights feature a wide range |
| lighting, brightness should be directly proportional to | | | | of wattages and ballast options to accommodate |
| the activity within an area. | | | | warehouses of all sizes. |
| Most lighting in commercial warehouses requires equal | | | | Metal Halide |
| attention to vertical as well as horizontal foot candle | | | | Most people doing assembly line work prefer to work |
| densities because both workers and equipment may | | | | under the bright white light of Metal Halide commercial |
| be moving supplies either vertically up ramps or | | | | warehouse lights. The CRI of an MH lamp is much |
| horizontally across floor space. It also helps to be able | | | | higher than that of high pressure sodium. In the past |
| to control the level of lighting in a commercial | | | | many organizations found them too expensive, |
| warehouse in order to maximize energy efficiency. | | | | however, as a long term investment. Lamp life tends |
| The type of lights you chose for your warehouse is | | | | to be only 7,500 hours or so, making frequent |
| also very important. Some types of light render color | | | | replacements inevitable. Also, lumens per watt |
| more effectively than others, and operations such as | | | | efficiency tended to be significantly lower than HPS |
| assembly line work often require a color rendering | | | | fixtures, making MH more costly to operate. |
| index (CRI) of close to 100 (CRI of daylight). | | | | Recent developments in technology have changed |
| Commercial warehouse lights are often called | | | | this to a certain extent. Pulse start MH high bays |
| “high bay lights” or “low bay | | | | feature up to 110 lumens per watt |
| lights” because they hang from the ceiling of | | | | efficiency—not quite as high as HPS, but |
| a facility. Bay lights can be High Pressure Sodium, | | | | certainly bright enough to provide a well-lit vertical |
| Metal Halide, or Fluorescent lamps. Newer MH lighting | | | | cube and effective downlighting over horizontal work |
| fixtures have recently emerged in the market, along | | | | areas. They also feature longer lamp life and are |
| with a number of T5 and T8, and parabolic | | | | rapidly gaining popularity as a recession proof source |
| commercial warehouse lights we will examine in | | | | of high quality lighting in areas that require color |
| greater detail at a later date. For the meantime, the | | | | definition and brightness. |
| advantages and drawbacks of each type of | | | | Fluorescent High Bays |
| commercial warehouse lighting fixture is itemized | | | | Fluorescent high bay warehouse lights burn |
| below, along with some suggestions on how each | | | | significantly cooler than HID fixtures. In plants where |
| can be most effectively used by an industrial | | | | the air tends florescent warehouse lights can lower |
| organization. | | | | HVAC costs. Fluorescent fixtures also render colors |
| Types of HID High Bay Lighting: | | | | more effectively than HID light sources, and they use |
| High Pressure Sodium | | | | far less power than HID fixtures. For example, a |
| High Pressure Sodium fixtures were the preferred | | | | 35watt fluorescent high bay can produce equivalent |
| form of lighting in commercial warehouses for many | | | | lighting levels to a 400 watt HID fixture. Although the |
| years. Not only did they offer the highest lumens per | | | | light is less controllable and intense, it tends to be |
| watt efficiency, they also featured the longest lamp | | | | more evenly distributed. Fluorescent commercial |
| life (approximately 25,000 hours). This offers | | | | warehouse lights are ideal for lighting large areas of |
| companies looking to weather the recession cost | | | | floor space where heavy traffic requires clear visibility |
| effectively the advantage of a onetime equipment | | | | without glare or shadow. |