What exactly is High Bay Lighting? Everything You Should Know

High bay lighting is usually appropriate when a large indoor space needs to be illuminated. Consider manufacturing facilities, gymnasiums, warehouses, large department stores, factories, and other similar structures; these structures are typically large and cover a lot of vertical as well as horizontal space. This necessitates the use of powerful lighting to provide the necessary foot-candle levels to adequately illuminate. High bay lighting fixtures are typically suspended from the ceiling using hooks, chains, or pendants, or they may be directly attached to the ceiling (similar to troffer lights). The photo above shows high bay lighting in action.

High bay lighting is in a variety of facilities and industries

• Warehouses
• Community centers and recreation centers are examples of municipal facilities.
• Manufacturing plants
• Gyms in schools and universities;
• Some of the most common are industrial facilities.
• Commercial applications such as department stores.

Why should you choose LED high bay lights over metal halide, fluorescent, or other traditional high bay lights?

When high bay lights were required in warehouses and industrial settings, various lighting technologies were (and still are) used. Metal halide (MH), high-pressure sodium (HPS), and fluorescent are among the most common. While each of these bulbs has advantages, industrial LED lighting outperforms conventional lighting in significant ways. Let’s look at some of the various factors to consider when deciding whether an LED retrofit is right for your warehouse or industrial space.

• Metal halide high bay lights vs. industrial LED lighting: If you’ve ever been to a baseball game, you’ve probably noticed metal halide lighting on the field. MH lamps are commonly used in sports and warehouse/industrial settings (as well as any setting where large, high spaces need to be illuminated). The advantages of MH lights include good color rendering and relatively high foot-candle levels (as opposed to other types of conventional bulbs). Some of their major drawbacks include a long warm-up time (sometimes 15-30 minutes) and a high maintenance cost, as well as failure characteristics such as flickering on and off. This is in addition to the fact that a large portion of the energy they generate is lost as heat. Learn more about LED vs. Metal Halide Lighting.
• High-bay LED lighting vs. high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting: HPS lights are frequently used in warehouses, industrial, commercial, and recreational facilities where high bay lighting is required. Their advantages include a low cost of entry, high energy efficiency (low operating costs), and a relatively long lifespan. Although HPS lighting technology retains these advantages over most conventional bulbs, it falls short on all three counts when compared to LED high bay lighting. HPS bulbs have the poorest color rendering on the market and require a warm-up period.
• Industrial LED lighting vs fluorescent lighting: Although fluorescent lighting is less common, it is occasionally used in a warehouse or industrial applications (primarily T12, T8, and T5 lights). Fluorescent lights have lower initial costs and relatively high efficiency (especially when compared to other conventional bulbs). The presence of toxic mercury (which necessitates specific waste disposal procedures), a reduced lifetime when switched on and off, and the need for ballast to stabilize the light are all disadvantages.

What are the three most significant advantages of employing LED lighting technology in all applications, including high bay?

It’s no secret that LED lighting technology has significantly outperformed traditional lighting in many ways. In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are three general advantages of LED lighting that apply to all lighting applications.

Maintenance needs have been reduced. As previously stated, LED lights have a lifetime that is four to forty times that of many traditional bulbs. This implies fewer replacements for burned-out bulbs. LED lighting technology creates light in a different way than traditional fuel and filament lighting by using a diode (learn more in this blog). This implies fewer moving parts to fail and, as a result, fewer repairs or replacements. When it comes to industrial lighting or warehouse lighting, maintenance is very critical.

Lighting has been improved. When it comes to color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT), and foot candles, industrial LED lighting and high bay lights often outperform most other bulbs. The color rendering index (CRI) of light is a measurement of its ability to disclose the true color of things when compared to an ideal light source (natural light).

Energy efficiency has improved. LED lights not only create light differently, but they also disperse light differently than traditional lighting systems, using less energy to provide the same output. How exactly does it work? For starters, many traditional lights lose a large portion of the energy they generate by expelling it as heat (this is especially the case with metal halide lighting). Second, most traditional lights are omnidirectional, which means they emit light in all directions.

How many high bay lights will I require?

After you’ve decided on the led high bay fixtures, you’ll need to figure out how many lights you’ll need. The number of lights required is determined by the available area and the level of brightness required. You can determine the number of lights required for a certain location based on the spacing and brightness requirements. We may also assist you in creating a layout to compute based on your specifications.

Do you have any further questions concerning high bay lighting?

We’ve gathered a wealth of information to assist facility managers and owners in learning about led lighting and how it might benefit certain applications. Visit our led light expert page to learn more about certain kinds of fixtures (such as high bay or other industrial led lighting fixtures), or look at case studies for comparable businesses to see how their led upgrade went. We also provide a free return on investment calculator to assist your company to determine how long it will take to recoup the original investment via lower energy demands and maintenance expenses. As usual, please do not hesitate to contact us with any queries you may have – we would be delighted to assist you on your journey to more energy-efficient lighting solutions.