Keep This in Mind Before Investing in High Bay Light Fixtures

High bay lights are commonly used in large spaces with high ceilings ranging from 20-20 feet. Several factors impact the choice of high bay light fixtures. This post will discuss some important considerations when purchasing LED high bay lights.

 

Understand LED High Bay Lights

 

Depending on your requirement and facility layout, you may use chains or directly attach them to the ceiling. They also have many options specifically designed to cater to different needs. Though it may seem difficult, you can follow some points to help you differentiate between the lights and choose the most suitable one.

 

Analyze the Layout

 

This is the first thing to do as a buyer. Start with analyzing the layout of your setup since it will play a significant role in choosing an LED high bay light fixture. This means that a fixture with 30-foot candles of light intensity is usually enough to light up a storage room, for example. But to illuminate a warehouse uniformly, you require a high bay light with 50-foot candles. Whereas a retail store may need even brighter lights with about 80-foot candles of light intensity. Therefore, analyzing the layout plan of your space will help ensure that you buy the right high bay lights for your industrial or commercial setup.

 

Ascertain the Watts and Lumens Required

 

The amount of electricity the light consumes while in use is measured in watts, and lumens is the measuring unit of the visible light produced by a lighting source. Both these things should be determined before you purchase high bay light fixtures for your facility. The size and height of your facility should also be considered since different watts of lights are considered suitable for different heights. For a height range of 10-15 feet, the light needs to produce 10000-15000 lumens; for 15-25 feet, the bulb should produce 16000-25000 lumens; and for a height range of 30-35 feet requires more than 36000 lumens. 

 

Number of Lights Required

 

Preparing the layout and determining the required lumens will help you decide the number of lights required for your facility. Most of the lighting brands offer free photometric designs, thus making it easier to determine the number of lights needed for your facility as well as the distance between each of them. This will help you create a comprehensive pre-planning to avoid unnecessary installation of fixtures, thus saving you a lot of money.

 

The Type of High Bay Lights Required

 

Since LED high bay lights are available in various designs, choosing the one that fits your facility cannot be easy. These light fixtures are mainly divided into two sub-categories depending on the shape.

 

• UFO high bay lights are round in shape and are a great choice for large warehouses. They are IP rated for wet locations. UFO high bay lights are best for ceiling heights of more than 35 feet as they render better light output and beam spread. 
• Linear high bay lights: these lights are long and also called panel-style high bays. They are larger than the former type and provide superior light distribution.  

The voltage of the LED High Bay Lights

 

Commercial and industrial setups require high-voltage light fixtures. However, there is no need to set the voltage for LED high bay lights since they can adjust automatically to the incoming voltage. But you may find these lights in the voltage ranges of 100-277 V, 277-480 V, and 347-480 V.

 

Selecting the Right Color Temperature

 

It is a characteristic of light and is measured in Kelvin. A higher number of Kelvin indicates that the light is warmer and yellow, while the one with a lower color temperature means that it is cool and blue. Most people use a color temperature of more than 5500, which can lead to headaches, so they are not used in a home-like environment. But if you plan to replace the metal halide fixture in your large industrial step-up, you can use an LED high bay light with a color temperature of more than 5000K.

 

The CRI 

 

CRI, or color rendering index, is the ability of a lighting product to reveal the actual colors of different objects. A CRI of 70+ is considered a good option for large industrial setups, but for manufacturing units, you need to choose a lighting source with a higher CRI of 80-90 since colors play an important role in such setups.

 

Choose a Light Fixture Based on the Space

 

Many LED high bay fixtures are available today, like recessed dome lights, recessed troffers, mounted explosion-proof options, etc. So carefully consider the different high bay lighting products per your layout and space.

 

Make The Right Choice

 

Keep in mind that different application areas require other LED high bay light fixtures. The above consideration will come in handy when making a decision so that you can illuminate your spaces appropriately.