The importance of installing the right commercial lighting is critical. Commercial lighting in general is designed to be principally functional, to help staff to carry out their routine tasks and activities in the most effective and safe ways possible. But within those parameters, each individual setting will have very specific requirements. A professional lighting designer can both inform you of your responsibilities under legislation and help design the right types of lighting for the purposes of that space. Here, we take a quick look at the demands of warehouse lighting, as an example.
Choosing the Right Light Solutions for a Warehouse
For Health and Safety reasons, workers in your warehouse must have sufficient lighting to carry out their duties. At the same time, though, you don’t want to spend more on electricity than is necessary. To balance these competing demands, it’s worth having a site survey carried out by an experienced light technician. You’ll probably find that different areas need different levels of lighting, depending on what activities go on there. And it’s here that some savings can be made.
Firstly, opting for LED lights will dramatically cut down on the energy costs you’re charged for illuminating your space. The other advantage of LED lights is that they do not cast the same level of shadow that older style bulbs will, heightening the light available for your staff to work. The third key benefit that LED lights bring is that they switch on instantly. Older lights, like fluorescent ones, would take much longer to warm up to reach their maximum brightness. And finally, combined with high quality fittings, maintenance costs are far less for LED lighting than traditional warehouse lighting solutions.
What About The Types of LED Lights Available?
Warehouse areas often typically lack large amounts of natural light, making them harder to light effectively. The high ceilings in warehouses also can lead to difficulty in maintaining installed lights. So for the reasons above, LED provides numerous advantages with their high levels of light and durability.
In warehouse areas with high ceilings and racking aisles, clients often opt for LED high bays. These are powerful illuminators that cast a strong, bright light with a wide beam angle. This kind of lighting really does illuminate places other lights fail to reach! Their energy consumption can be less than 60% than fluorescent and HID lighting systems, and their longer lifespan reduces the need for costly maintenance.
Then, there’s LED battens, which are suitable for corridors, entrances and areas that need to be task-lit, such as work stations within warehouses. Anti-corrosive fittings can also be selected for outdoor areas such as loading bays and garages. These will resist shock, impact and extremes of weather.
In conjunction with selecting appropriate LED lights, warehouse managers can also select from different types of control systems, such as those that reduce lighting in unoccupied or currently unused areas by dimming or switching lights off completely. Lights can also be switched on and off independently of each other on a motion sensor, for instance, so use is restricted to areas where individuals are actually working at the time.
For a full analysis and lighting design for your warehouse space, speak to an experienced and professional lighting designer. You could save money longer term and benefit from better working conditions for your staff.