LED Lighting Supply / Photometric Plan / Data Center Lighting Design

Data Center Lighting Design

Q: What Goes into Successful Data Center Lighting Design?

A data center is unique in terms of layouts. Understanding the layout, location, heights of computer racks, ceiling heights, existing lights (if any), and anything else that’s unique about the environment, plays a crucial role in creating a lighting plan. Racks of computers can impede lighting from creating a more universal light coverage. This is a similar problem found in many warehouses with rows of racking. Designing all obstructions into the plan ensures the light in the rows between computer racks meets the lighting requirements of the data center.

Get Your Custom Lighting Plan With Product Recommendations

The first question when working on a project is often: How Many LED Lights Do I Need for a Data Center? A data center lighting fixture layout is the ideal first step to ensure your data center facility LED lighting gives the desired foot candle level and bright light. Keep the space bright and the lighting balanced with a data center lighting design photometric plan. Let our experts design a lighting plan for your project. Trusted by contractors.

Professionally Designed Lighting Layout
Fixture Count & Recommendation
Improved Energy Efficiency & Reduced Maintenance

How long does it take to get a plan?

1-2 for indoor and 2-3 days for outdoor projects

Our Customers

CBRE needed high quality lighting for their customer, with stock available for ongoing projects.

Customer had an urgent need for high temperature lights. We had them in stock & shipped out next day.

Poor lighting caused parking lot safety issues for spectators. Our lighting plan & new lights resulted in an improved experience.

Customer needed to source large quantities of specialty fixtures for use in their manufactured products.

Tracy Electric was seeking a reliable source for ongoing lighting projects.

Distributors partner with us to provide customers a high quality product at a reasonable price.

Repeat lighting supplier for an electrical contractor working in manufacturing facilities.

Permanent tent lighting for large acrobatics facility. Our lighting plan & recommendations resulted in ideal performer & spectator safety.

What Goes into Successful Data Center Lighting Design?

A data center is unique in terms of layouts. Understanding the layout, location, heights of computer racks, ceiling heights, existing lights (if any), and anything else that’s unique about the environment, plays a crucial role in creating a lighting plan.

Racks of computers can impede lighting from creating a more universal light coverage. This is a similar problem found in many warehouses with rows of racking. Designing all obstructions into the plan ensures the light in the rows between computer racks meets the lighting requirements of the data center.

What is the Ideal Data Center Lighting Layout?

The ideal layout provides uniform light coverage and an adequate amount of light to support the work required and the safety of your workers.

What are the Recommended Data Center Light Levels?

Data centers are unique in that many of the times the space is inhabited, so it makes sense to use motion-sensing lights in the space. However, it’s not an area that requires super bright lighting. Below is a general guideline of how well lit a data center should be.

Server Rooms	30-50 fc
Repair Areas	50-75 fc
Storage Areas	20-30 fc
Hallways and Corridors	20-30 fc

Is Heat Dispersion Taken into Account for Data Center Lighting Design?

There are two aspects to heat. The first is the amount of heat generated by the lighting that adds to the overall HVAC load. Fortunately, LED is one of the best lights for this issue, as it generates very little heat. The second is the ambient temperature at light install levels, and whether it will affect the lifespan of the chosen fixture based on that fixture’s operating temperature specifications. If heat is an issue, it should be identified in the specifications so that we can choose a fixture that has a higher tolerance to temperatures.

How Do I Determine the Best Fixture for Each Part of the Data Center Facility?

We’d be happy to create a customized lighting plan for you which will detail the specific lighting needs for each space. We have done this for many data centers. And can provide you with a roadmap of LED lighting before you buy any lights.

What is the Best Way to Mount Lights in a Data Center?

The lights are usually mounted on the ceiling. They are either in a ceiling grid or are surface mounted to the ceiling. Discuss your requirements and environment with us. We can recommend the best options for your needs.

What is the Difference Between a Lighting Design Calculator and a Lighting Plan?

Use a calculator if:

You are looking for a free, online tool to quickly calculate the number of fixtures you need
You want quick, simple, and immediate results
You are looking for a count of light fixtures needed based on a specific budget
You need a rough estimate on quantity and layout/configuration does not matter
There is no need to include specific light balance and shadows in your documentation

Use a lighting plan layout if:

You would like a professional lighting plan engineer to review your requirements
You need a calculated lighting plan that shows foot candle readings
You need to see how balanced the light levels are, and you care about reducing shadows
You want to show aiming angles, and light positions in scale within your indoor or outdoor area
You need professional assurance that the lights you buy will be the right choice