There are plenty of options for lighting in warehouses, but one style that’s becoming increasingly popular is high bay LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. High bay LED lamps aren’t just common in warehouses, but in any facility or venue containing high ceilings and requiring illumination of 15 or more feet. Aside from warehouses, sports arenas, gymnasiums, loading docks and other industrial facilities are other popular venues for this style of lighting.
What makes high bay LED lighting a better option than other options like fluorescent and CFLs (compact fluorescent lights)? Here’s a closer look.
1. Energy Savings
It all starts with energy efficiency – and that’s one big advantage that high bay LED lighting has over other types of lighting. Specifically, these lights use less power than other lighting styles, and it’s not uncommon for facilities to save as much as 80% on electric bills compared to lighting alternatives – potentially even more, if this lighting is combined with smart sensors.
Cost savings, however, is just one big benefit. There are many others. Choose LED downlights fire rated for energy-efficient as emphasized by the clients and top customers.
2. Long-lasting & Cool
High bay LED lights last up to 10 times longer than CFL and fluorescent lights. And when they are turned on, they don’t emit any heat. This isn’t just a safety advantage over other types of lights, but because they don’t generate heat, it also saves on cooling costs. In fact, it’s estimated that facilities can save up to 20% on utilities bills, as high bay LEDs will decrease the need for air conditioning.
3. Durability & Sight Advantages
We already told you how high bay LEDs are long-lasting, but they’re also very durable – durable to the point where they’re pretty much damage-proof and essentially maintenance-free. Simply put, these lights don’t bust easily.
LED is also easier on the eyes. Turn on a fluorescent light and it’s bound to flicker – at least, for a little while. Turn on a high bay LED lamp, and you’ll get the light you want immediately. In fact, turn it on and off as often as you want – you won’t notice any problems or flickering. If you’re interested in exploring different lighting options, you can find more information by Going Here.
4. Better Light Uniformity
It is a fact that LED lighting like LED Stripe Lamp, distributes light better than others. In fact, many report an 8% increase in light uniformity with high bay LED lighting compared to others. Other benefits of high bay LED lighting compared to fluorescent and CFL lights include lesser light distortion and minimal static buildup.
One of the main sticking points to installing high bay LEDs in the likes of warehouses is their higher up-front costs. But when you factor in things like energy savings and their lifespan, high bay LED lighting is clearly worth the investment.
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In the past, when lighting the enormous spaces and high ceilings of commercial facilities, only two high bay lighting options were typically available to contractors: HID and fluorescent lights.
Now there’s another, and better, option: high bay LED lights.
If you’re considering using high bay LEDs on your commercial lighting projects, your customers might wonder what’s changed about today’s high bay lighting products and why LED high bays might make more sense for their project.
To answer these questions, we reached out to Mike Zumbrun, General Manager of Sales at Mid-Atlantic Lighting, a lighting and electrical manufacturers’ representative agency serving the Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia markets. Mike and his team have years of hands-on field experience helping specifiers, architects, contractors, and ESCOs find the right lighting solutions.
Mike offers great suggestions for how contractors and ESCOs should think about switching to LED, the benefits modern high bays offer to end customers, and new features that can provide additional value.
Where You Can Now Use High Bays
High bays have traditionally been used for industrial spaces with 25+ foot ceilings, such as warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
Modern LED high bays don't have to follow those same rules, though. Today, high bays can be used in most commercial applications with ceilings over 12 feet.
Mike says, “With the variety of lumen outputs and features these days, high bays are no longer a 25-foot plus product.”
This is good news for contractors and ESCOs because it expands your market and the types of facilities you can sell to. Instead of just doing the high school gym, for example, you could potentially take on the hallways, cafeteria, and other areas as well.
Why Switch from HID or Fluorescent Lighting?
Businesses and institutions can run into problems when they use outdated lighting fixtures. By exploring these possible issues with your customer’s current lighting setup, you can uncover opportunities to introduce LED high bay lights as a more advantageous solution.
Problems with HID and fluorescent commercial lighting can include:
- Poor lighting quality
- High maintenance frequency
- High maintenance costs
- Energy inefficiency
Let’s explore these issues in more detail.
Poor Lighting Quality
Mike says his team is often replacing fixtures that are 25 or 30 years old. “The CRI, or Color Rendering Index, is terrible on these older products.” He adds that even newer products get dimmer with time; a two- or three-year-old product may generate 30% less light output compared to when it was new.
This can create serious issues in areas where precise lighting is essential, such as printshops or paint shops. Notably, the workers in these areas might not notice the lights getting dimmer over time, but their work outputs might start to suffer.
High Maintenance Frequency
When facilities use outdated products like old high output fluorescents and the old HID metal halide type high bay products, they need to replace lamps and bulbs more frequently. This can quickly become a frustrating and time-consuming recurring task for maintenance staff, taking valuable time away from production equipment maintenance, facility upgrades, or other big-picture tasks.
High Maintenance Costs
More frequent lamp and bulb replacement means higher costs — and not just because of the cost of the lamps and bulbs themselves. High ceiling fixture maintenance can be a major production. The customer may need a special lift to access the lights. Meanwhile, the lack of proper lighting can disrupt operations and potentially create costly downtime.
Mike also points out that even finding replacement parts for older fixtures is getting more difficult. “More and more manufacturers are scaling back production because LED is more popular.” Much like the way car parts for a certain model get more expensive and harder to find when the car has been discontinued, parts for older lights will soon become a very expensive needle in a haystack.
Energy Inefficiency
The person responsible for the electric bill knows this well: Outdated fixtures cost more money in energy usage compared to more efficient fixtures like LED. Additionally, sticking with old-fashioned lighting means missing out on some great energy rebate programs.
Why LED High Bay Lighting Is Better
Modern LED high bay products solve the problems of older fixtures and deliver added value:
- Better lighting quality
- Less frequent maintenance
- Lower maintenance cost
- Better energy efficiency
- No “warm-up” time
- Safety and productivity
- Property value
Here are some details to help build your case.
Better Lighting Quality
LED produces better quality light. A powerful and well-directed light can deliver the ceiling-to-floor lumen levels that commercial and industrial customers need for many reasons. As Mike explains, “I've worked in offices before that have bad lighting and it feels like working in a cave. Even if it's a small boost, better lighting boosts safety and morale.”
Less Frequent Maintenance
LED is a more maintenance-free product. LED high bays can last 3-5 times longer than their HID or fluorescent counterparts, almost making it a “set it and forget it” lighting project. Instead of messing around changing yet another burned-out light, maintenance staff can focus on more important tasks.
Lower Maintenance Cost
In high-ceiling facilities, lights can be hard to reach. Long-life LEDs reduce maintenance costs and concerns for the entire life of the fixtures.
Another benefit: LEDs don’t contain toxic mercury, so they don’t require special and costly disposal.
Better Energy Efficiency
LED high bay fixtures are often 30-50% more energy-efficient than the HID or fluorescent fixtures they are usually replacing. That means big savings on the customer’s utility bills. Mike adds, “And that's before you add utility rebates to the mix. Many times, there's very little cost out of pocket to the end user.”
No “Warm-Up” Time
LED is a solid-state light, so it comes on instantly and at full strength, allowing work to take place immediately. According to Mike, this is a big bonus in areas that regularly get cold weather:
“Fixtures like the high output fluorescence or T5HO high bays were the greatest thing in the world 15 years ago. But in cold weather, they come on dim and take a while to warm up.
In the case of HID Lighting, if there's a power outage it can mean 20 to 25 minutes waiting for light.”
Safety and Productivity
For some industries, visibility is key, no matter the ceiling height. Work areas with manufacturing lines, inventory storage, machinery, or where cleanliness and sanitation are required need the kind of high quality, directed light that LED high bays can provide.
In particular, if any work requiring accurate color identification is being done in that space, nothing beats LED for bright, daylight-like illumination.
Property Value
For property managers, LED lights add perceived value. Mike points out, “If they are going to turn that space over every three to five years, having high efficiency, low maintenance LED lighting warrants a premium. It's a value-added product, especially if you're going to put the tenant in charge of the utilities.”
Upgrades to LED High Bays That Add Value
Clearly, LED high bay lights offer many benefits. But your customers may also find a lot of value in some notable product upgrades, including:
- Occupancy Sensors – In certain areas of a building, you may not need lights on for the full eight to 12 hours a day. Occupancy sensing solves that problem and adds to the savings. Sensors can also impact the rebate your customers may qualify for. “With utility rebates, in some cases you can get almost double the rebate just by adding some sort of a sensor,” Mike explains.
- Daylight Harvesting – Why pay for what the sunlight offers for free? You can set LED high bays to dim to a lower output when photo sensors show there is adequate ambient light in the space from windows or skylights.
- Remote-controlled Lighting – A remote control can be used to fine-tune sensor settings from the ground after installation. The customer can set brightness, occupancy sensor sensitivity, hold time after vacancy, and other controls.
Mike believes that being able to customize the product is one of the big selling points for LED lights. “The customer wants to be able to set the lighting how they want. They want to be able to control it with their phone if necessary,” he says. “It's nice because the building owner or the building engineer can set it up and control it themselves. They don't have to pay someone to come in and commission product for them.”
With all these benefits, features, and added value, modern LED high bay fixtures might be the perfect fit for your next commercial project. To learn more about Litetronics’ industry-leading line of LED high bays, contact one of our sales reps today.