What is Commercial LED Lighting?
Commercial LED Lighting is installed at commercial applications, locations, or at a business. There is some crossover between these and industrial lighting in that some LED Lights, like high bays, low bays, parking lot lights, security lights, and floodlighting, can serve both applications. Commercial lighting products include both indoor lighting fixtures and outdoor lighting fixtures.
Other institutions, like schools, colleges, office spaces, and ball fields, are also considered commercial lighting applications. Homeowners who would be interested might have a pole barn, workshop, large garage, horse barn, or horse arena they want to be lit up.
What is Commercial Grade LED Lighting?
Commercial-grade LED lighting is a grade of light that does not require the ruggedness and power of an industrial requirement. These would be too powerful and too bright for a typical homeowner to use for most residential applications, other than possibly in large outbuildings, pole barns, or shops.
What are Common Applications for Commercial Lighting?
There are many applications for commercial interior lighting fixtures, but by far, the most common applications we see are:
- Offices
- Warehouses
- Shops
- Gymnasiums
- Pole Barns
- Parking Lots
- Wall Pack Security Lighting
- Tennis Courts
- Sports Field and Ball Field Lighting
What are Average Foot Candles for LED Fixtures Used in Commercial Applications?
There are so many types of applications, it's hard to generalize. The best place to start is to determine how bright you want the area to be. This is measured in the foot candles on the floor. What is the space used for? We can then recommend the foot-candle levels you would require to provide the proper illumination.
Next, specific lighting fixtures will be used to determine the foot candle level that you will get. These two things combined with the actual size of your area can help us determine the right fixture and foot candles on the ground based on a lighting design plan. We can create a lighting plan to meet your requirements and highlight both light level and light balance across the area.
How Many Lumens Do I Need to Light up a Commercial Indoor Space?
It depends on what the space is used for, but three ranges would be:
- 30 lumens per square foot for light use/storage purposes
- 50 lumens per square foot for medium-use activities
- 70 lumens per square foot for high-use / fine-detail activities
What are the Benefits of Commercial LED Lighting versus Metal Halide and Fluorescent Lighting?
Here are several reasons why LED Light Fixtures outperform them:
- LED lights are efficient and use 50% to 75% less energy than metal halide and fluorescent lights. Adding lighting controls such as photocells and motion sensors that dim the lights or turn them off completely only adds to the energy savings.
- LED Lights last a very long time, and L70 depreciation is measured at 50,000+ hours. So your maintenance costs will drop dramatically and you will get years of bright, high-quality, trouble-free lighting.
- LEDs are not affected by turning them on and off. It will not decrease their lifespan.
- LEDs are instant on, and instant off. So, no need for long warm-up times like metal halide.
- You can dim LED Lights easily.
- LED Lighting provides bright, high-quality lighting. It will easily enhance your space.
- You have a choice of color temperatures with LED Lighting. The most common are 3000K, 4000K, and 5000K color temperature.
- You can easily replace your existing lighting and maintain or increase the brightness and light quality in the building.
Free Commercial LED Lighting Plans
Lighting Plans for Commercial Areas, indoors or outdoors, provide the proper assurances that the lighting project will meet your requirements. We supply free lighting plans for our business customers. Ask for yours. We are your commercial lighting manufacturer partner.
Need Help? Talk to an LED Commercial Light Expert.
With so many options and fixtures available, it's hard to decide what option is going to meet your needs and requirements. The sales engineers of LED Lighting Supply are experts in Commercial LED Lighting. Use our experience and tell us your needs, and we will provide you with the best commercial LED lighting options for your project or application. We can provide you with a free lighting plan to make sure the area is well-lit and the lighting is balanced.
Completed Commercial Lighting Projects using LED Lighting Supply Lights
Commercial LED Lighting FAQs
What Do LED Light Fixtures Cost Per Square Foot?
Once again, it varies by need and application. First, we would develop a lighting plan that meets your lighting needs, and from there, we can calculate the cost of the fixtures and divide that into the square footage of the space or outdoor area. It stands to reason that the more light/foot candles you require, the cost will be higher.
What Voltage Options Are Available for LED Commercial Lights?
Three ranges of voltages are available for LED lights. Actual voltages vary from fixture to fixture, but you typically find 100V-277V as the primary range and either 277V-480V or 347V-480V as the high voltage range. These ranges coincide with the multi-tap drivers we supply that automatically adapt to the input voltage detected on the line.
There is no setup or dial-in process you need to do – the drivers will automatically adjust to your incoming voltage. When selecting a fixture, it is important to know what your current voltage input is.
What's Better: 120v or 277v for LED Lighting Fixtures?
First, 120V is safer. So, if your main concern is safety, choose 120V.
However, the higher the voltage you can use, the less amp draw each fixture uses. And on a panel circuit, that can be a concern. You can install more fixtures of the same type on one circuit at 277V than you can at 120V. But, if you can choose, 277VAC provides more advantages.
Remember, most of our standard LED Drivers are 100-277V auto-switching. They will adapt to any voltage within that range automatically. We have many options for high-voltage applications as well.
Is it Easy to Install LED Light Fixtures in Commercial Applications?
LED commercial light fixtures are simple and offer easy installation for any qualified electrician. They can replace 1-for-1 your existing lighting. LED commercial light fixtures include all the same mounting you are accustomed to and the same wiring that allows you to easily connect to your existing conjunction boxes or lighting infrastructure.
Is it East to Wire Commercial LED Light Fixtures?
With commercial led fixtures, you are only dealing with 3 wires – line, neutral, and ground. This wiring is simple and easy to deal with. However, it’s always best to hire a licensed electrician. The commercial lighting distributor you work with, such as LED Lighting Supply, will be able to provide wiring diagrams for the purchased fixtures.
What Wire Gauge is Used for LED Commercial Lighting?
Most of our fixtures, like high bays, come with a whipcord. When replacing existing commercial lighting, the wire in place is usually more than adequate to use in connection with the new LED lights we provide.
Is It Easy to Add a Dimmer Switch to Commercial Lighting?
Most of our LED lights are dimmable, but the dimming system is quite different from the dimming system used in households.
In commercial lighting, there is typically a 0-10V or 1-10V step dimming system that uses a specific isolated dimmer control that is not part of the on-off switch. To support this, you will require 2 low voltage wires run from the switch and daisy chained to each fixture that will be installed on the switch. The fixture must be equipped with a dimmable driver to be dimmed.
However, practical applications of dimmable lighting include, for example, high bay or low bay fixtures in a warehouse with an attached motion sensor. That motion sensor is smart enough to tell the high bay to dim when the work areas are vacant. It sends a signal to the dimmable driver to dim. No external switch or extra wiring is required in these installations. When motion is detected, the fixtures quickly switch to full power and illuminate the area.
We have many commercial exterior lighting solutions and can handle all sizes of projects from a simple parking lot to a baseball, football, or soccer field.