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Lighting DesignLED High Bay Lights
9 Tips on How to Pick the Best LED High Bay Lights
1. Prepare a Layout of the area (this is probably the most important step)
The first thing before buying LED high bays is to create a lighting plan. This is because different spaces need different types of lights. For instance, a storage room may only need a light with 30 foot candles. A large warehouse might need 50 foot candles. Assembly areas need more, 70+ foot candles.
Spaces like retail stores need very bright, high quality light so that shoppers can clearly see the products they’re buying (80 foot candles or more).
Creating a lighting plan is perhaps the most important thing you can do. It will dictate the rest of your lighting decisions and ensure that you get the lights you need and nothing else.
How many LED High Bays do you need?
The most accurate way to determine this is to create a high bay lighting plan.
A high bay lighting plan will show how bright your indoor space can be and how evenly the light will be distributed. It will also show you the locations of the lights, and select the best BEAM ANGLE to use. We can create a custom high bay lighting plan for your indoor area for Free.
This takes the risk out of your LED purchase.
We have done 1000's of FREE lighting plans. We have 100's of lights to choose from to meet almost any requirement or budget. We have a warehouse full of LED lights ready to ship. So your lighting plan to purchase can be a quick and easy.
2. Determine The Watts And Lumen Levels
This is arguably the hardest part of the decision. What is the LED High Bay do you need, and how many watts will it use? Most buyers start by selecting a high bay based on its watts used. This is actually a bad idea.
The proper way is to figure out how many lumens you need, and then find the light that produces those lumens most efficiently.
Still, its hard to figure out how many lumens you need until you understand the foot candles you need to light up the area.
So how can you possibly make the right decision? Watts? Lumens? Foot candles?
Fortunately there is an easy button. A lighting plan will figure this all our for you. Its a simple process that starts by knowing the dimensions of the rooms, lighting height and locations and desired foot candles. The software does the rest. To start, here is a simple lumens guide per light based on mounting height.
Bulbs at 10-15 feet height must produce 10000-15000 lumens
Bulbs at 15-20 feet height must produce 16000-25000 lumens
Bulbs at 25-35 feet height must produce 36000 lumens or more
3. Decide on the Type of High Bay that fits your need
We mentioned the great variety range of high bays above. The variety makes them adaptable for different settings but you may face difficulty in picking the right light for your facility.
The two major types of high bays are linear high bays (panel style lights that replace fluorescent fixtures) and UFOs (round, robust, compact lights).
Linear high bays can perfectly replace the fluorescent lights in bigger spaces. UFO high bays are also perfect for high ceilings but are more robust than linear fixtures and most are IP (wet) rated.
High bays also come as wide-angled linear lights that work best for spaces with low height ceilings.
LED UFO High Bays
These are sturdy, small, and circular high bay lights. UFOs can be a great replacement for all other conventional high bays like Metal Halides, High-Pressure Sodium, and HIDs.
UFOs can be the best option to go with if you want lights for warehouses and gyms. They are also good for the locations vulnerable to dampness since they are typically IP65+ rated.
Wattage Options: 100-600 Watts
Lumens Range: 13000-96000
Efficiency Ratings: 130-180
Best Alternative: 250-2000W Metal Halides and HID
Color Temperature Range: 4000K-5000K
CRI: 70 Above
Optics: Available for some varieties
Glare Shields: Available for some varieties, frosted lens
IP Rating (Wet): IP65
Voltage Options: Standard range of 100-277V, optional range of 277-480V, 347V for Canada
Rating for Impact: Available for strong industrial-grade lights, IK08 and lower
Mounting Options: Pendant, Eye hooks, and Trunnions for some varieties
Surge Protection: Available for most varieties with upgrade option too
Motion Sensors: Available for most varieties
Stock Availability: Yes, most of the models are available and ready to ship
LED Linear High Bays
These lights will be best for gyms and warehouses and be great replacements for T5 and T8 style high bays. You may also know linear high bays as panel-style.
Linear lights are best for indoor lighting. They are bigger than UFOs.
Wattage Options: 80-500 Watts
Lumens Range: 11000-42000
Efficiency Ratings: 135-140
Best Alternative: 250-1000W Metal Halides and HID
Color Temperature Range: 4000K-5000K
CRI: 70 Above
Optics: Not available, only standard 120-degree models
Glare Shields: Available for some varieties, frosted lens
IP Rating (Wet): Some up to IP65
Voltage Options: Standard range of 100-277V, optional range of 277-480V, 347V for Canada
Rating for Impact: Some up to IK08
Mounting Options: Pendant, Wire Mount, and Ceiling Mount
Surge Protection: Available for most varieties with upgrade option too
Motion Sensors: Available for most varieties
Stock Availability: Yes, most of the models are available and ready to ship
4. Decide on Efficacy Standards
Efficacy is measurement of how well a LED converts electricity into light. With LED's, efficacy refers to lumens per watt, or how much energy the fixture needs to consume to produce a certain amount of visible light.
The higher a LED lights efficacy, the fewer watts a high bay consumes to produce the same amount of lumens.
How important is efficacy, or lumens per watt, to you? LED High bays with a lower efficacy will typically cost less to purchase but will consume more energy over the lifetime of the light. This means that you will have a higher lighting bill. Over the lifetime of the fixture, a high efficacy light will save you a lot more money.
A 100 Watt LED High Bay at 150 lumens / watt produces 15,000 lumens.
A 150 Watt LED High Bay at 100 lumens / watt also produces 15,000 lumens.
For each hour both lights operate, the more efficient 100 Watt light consumes 50 fewer watts. This is real energy savings.
More efficient lights typically cost a bit more at the time of purchase. But they will save you a lot more money in reduced lighting bills over the life of the high bay.
5. Do you need high voltage?
The typical voltage range in most commercial and industrial indoor spaces ranges between 100 and 480 volts. LED High Bays can accommodate these areas and offer several drivers. These drivers switch to the incoming voltage automatically, so there is no need to adjust the high bays during installation. The common LED Driver voltage ranges are:
100V-277V
277V-480V
347V-480V (Canada)
6. Choose the right color temperature.
This can be a difficult decision. Color temperature is measured by the Kelvins scale where a high number represents yellow-warm light and a low number represents blue-cool light.
3000K is best for home lighting.
6000K light isn’t preferred by most due to the harsh blue brightness it generates.
4000K high bay light will be good option for creating a warm and welcoming ambiance. *
5000K light as the best replacement for metal halide. *
* Most Common Color Options
7. Determine the CRI (Color Rendering Index) you need.
CRI is the abbreviation for Color Rendering Index. It is the measurement of the real quality of the light produced by any light source.
High bay lights for the commercial and industrial application must have a CRI of 70 or above.
On the other hand, a CRI of 80-90 will be good for the spaces that see manufacturing activities as they need better color rendering.
Higher CRI means lower lumen need.
8. Do you need light controls?
Light controls facilitate the automation of light capacity and power on/off handling. While choosing from the various dimming controls available for LED high bays, motion sensors are the best option for indoor lights.
PIR and Microwave are two major types of motion sensor controls.
Microwave sensors work best at detecting common movements in big spaces.
PIR or Passive Infrared sensors use infrared beams for detecting movements in target areas.
While the industrial-commercial facilities make use of microwave sensors, the smaller facilities or areas use PIR sensors.
A 0-10V dimmable driver must be installed in your LED high bay. These drivers allow motion sensors to automate low light levels. Without them, you can only control on/off.
In these drivers, 0V doesn’t mean power off. It typical dims the light to 10% at 0 setting,
Frequently Asked Questions: LED High Bay Lights
1. What are High Bay LED lighting?
As their name implies, High Bay fixtures are light fixtures that are used to illuminate large indoor spaces with high ceilings. They’re designed to cast a bright, expansive shine that covers large distances, both horizontally and vertically. High bay lights are typically hung from the ceiling with hooks or chains, but may also be affixed directly to the ceiling.
For optimal luminosity, we recommend requesting a free photometric lighting plan. It will help you determine exactly how many lumens you need to achieve a bright, uniform light distribution.
But, a general rule of thumb for high bay lights is to space them the same distance apart as their mounting height. If you need large scale indoor lighting, look no further than High Bays.
2. Where Should I Install LED High Bay Fixtures?
Because they’re designed to cover large areas, we never recommend high bays for smaller, enclosed spaces. Instead, consider high bay lights for large, indoor commercial and industrial spaces with ample vertical and horizontal space.
You’ll find some examples of common applications below, but realistically, High Bays will function well in any indoor area with at least 20 foot high ceilings. Common high bay applications include:
Warehouses
Factories
Gymnasiums
Recreation Centers
Industrial Facilities
Manufacturing Facilities
3. Why choose LED High Bay lights?
Aside from their impressive ability to provide a bright, directional shine across a large expanse of space, LED High Bay fixtures offer many benefits that other lights just don’t.
Because they’re LEDs, our High Bay lights operate using much less energy than other types of bulbs and require minimal maintenance. So you can provide your facility with a better, brighter light at a fraction of the electrical cost of traditional bulbs. They are perfect for wet location needs, and eligible for rebates - because we offer both DLC and DLC Premium High Bay options.
Between 20 - 40 feet, we recommend High Bay led lights produce between 15,000 and 25,000 lumens.
For anything over 40 feet, we suggest High Bay led lights produce 36,000 to 55,000 lumens.
Looking for LED Warehouse Lights? Your best choice is a high bay.
4. What's the difference between High and Low Bay Lighting?
The two main differences are installation height and power of the fixture. High Bays are typically installed in ceilings 20 feet high up to 40 feet high. Low bay lights are installed in ceilings below 20 feet. Low Bay lights are lower power versions of High bay lights. The lower the ceiling, the less power you need to provide light to the area. High Bays are absolutely the best led warehouse light solution.
5. What are the best LED High Bays to replace Metal Halide?
You may want to consider our UFO Round LED High Bays. They are round led high bays are robust, impact resistant fixtures that are typically water proof and come in different wattage / lumen packages to easily replace 250 Watt to over 1000 Watt Metal Halide. We have super bright and power led high bays
6. What are the best LED High Bays to replace Fluorescent T5 / T8 High Bays?
You may want to consider linear high bay fixtures. They look very similar to a linear fluorescent fixture, and provide a broad, evenly distributed light similar to what you expect in fluorescent lighting. The biggest benefit? No flicker, humming and no tube replacements.
7. Can you use lighting controls with LED High Bays?
Yes. Many of our High Bay fixtures are dimmable and support motion sensors. They allow you to set both the active and inactive light levels so you are only providing light when there is activity on the floor below.
8. Do LED Fixtures really reduce costs?
Yes. Energy savings along can range from 50% to 90% - based on what you are replacing and how much light do you need. Adding lighting controls can save you even more. Maintenance costs drop because there are no frequent bulb and ballast replacements. LED Lights can last many, many years without any servicing.
9. What about High Heat? Hazardous Locations?
We offer both high heat and hazardous location high bays. High temperature high bays are rated up to 190 F, and are designed specifically to run in higher than normal temperatures. We also offer Class 1 Div 1 and Class 1 Div 2 High Bays for Hazardous locations for both gas and dusty hazards.
10. Why LED Lighting Supply High Bays?
We're here to help you find the perfect, premium LED High Bay for your Low or High Bay application. Whether you need a (FREE) lighting plan or have questions about LEDs, our expert lighting pros will help you make the right choice. We've been providing High Bay lighting solutions to facilities across the country for years, and whether you have a school gym or a 1,000,000 square foot facility, we can help you find the right LED High Bay lights for your space. And remember to ask how you can get free shipping when you order from us.
