High Bay Lighting Buying Guide: An Ultimate Guide

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High Bay Lighting Buying Guide – LED lights are proven to be a game-changing technology due to their low energy consumption, quick start times, and outstanding light quality. These lights enable users to save a lot of money on energy fees while also providing better lighting in their homes, businesses, and outdoor spaces. Most individuals, however, are unsure which light to purchase due to the overwhelming number of options. LED lights come in a variety of sizes, colors, and lumens, making it challenging to choose the correct one. You don’t have to be concerned with LED Light Expert. We’ll go through a comprehensive buyer’s guide that will help you pick the best LED lights for your high bay applications.

To find out more about High Bay LED Lighting, please visit our High Bay LED Lighting for Sale pages, where you can also request a quote.

Definitions

LED: “Light-Emitting Diode” is a solid-state lighting technology that uses a semiconductor diode that illuminates when power is applied. Since its intro in the early 1960s, this sort of light has been widely employed in electrical and computer equipment. LEDs’ lumen output has expanded tremendously as technology has progressed, and they now surpass virtually any other sort of commercially accessible light source.

Lumens: The quantity of visible light emitted by a source is measured in lumens. Previously, a light’s output was measured in watts rather than lumens. The linear connection between wattage and lumen output in classic incandescent lights was the reason behind this. Because LED lighting has such a broad range of lumen outputs compared to other lighting sources, comparing lights by lumen output has become the norm.

Wattage: This is the lighting industry’s standard measurement of power consumption, and it’s frequently used in conjunction with a light’s lumen output to estimate its energy efficiency. When one ampere of current travels across an electrical potential difference of one volt, a watt is described as the rate at which work is done. [1W = 1V * A] is a formula that may be used to represent this.

Voltage: The potential for energy to travel is described as voltage. Voltage is compared to water pressure because its properties are comparable to those of water flowing through a conduit under pressure from a pump.

DLC: When a product is listed under the DLC standard (short for “Design Light Consortium”), it signifies that it has been verified to perform at high levels of energy efficiency.

Color Temperature: Color temperature is a unit of measurement that ranges from 1,000 to 10,000 Kelvins and is used to determine the color hue of light. Today’s commercial lighting color temperatures range from 3000K to 6000K, with 5000K being the closest approximation to daylight.

High Bay Lights: These are a type of lighting fixture that is designed to be installed high in order to allow vertical clearance for daily activities while also providing a broad range of illumination. High bay lights are designed for industrial and commercial situations and feature a high brightness output.

The Color Rendering Index (CRI): This is a measuring scale used to quantify a light’s accuracy and effectiveness in accurate color rendering. This numerical scale goes from 0 to 100, with 100 being the CRI of sunshine, which is considered an ideal light source. A light’s CRI indicates how correctly it will illuminate its surroundings. The higher the CRI, the more accurate it will illuminate its surroundings.

Why LEDs for High Bay Lights?

Before we get into the specifics of selecting the best LED lights, it’s crucial to understand why you need LED lights in the first place. There are several reasons why LED bulbs should be used in high bay lights. The following are a few of them:

Cost

When compared to conventional bulbs, the cost of LED high bay lights and LED light bulbs is now quite low. These bulbs are available at the same costs as normal light bulbs.

Option for reducing energy use

As the world suffers energy shortages, it is becoming increasingly challenging to develop new and better energy sources that do not damage the environment. This is why you should seek out choices that might assist you in conserving energy. LED lights use less energy while producing greater light. You may save a lot of money on your rising power costs by using these lights.

Appearance

Everyone wants to make their house or company seem better. As a result, people seek out various décor pieces and other design concepts. On the other hand, a bright business draws clients and makes them feel protected. LED lights emit more lumens of light, allowing your company to shine even brighter.

Ease

These lights have a longer life span. You are not required to modify them regularly. A LED corn light bulb may last up to 20 years on average.

Safety

No UV or mercury is utilized or released in LED light bulbs or LED High Bay Lights. As a consequence, they’re far safer to use and operate than traditional light bulbs. These lights are an excellent choice that is also healthy.

These are some of the reasons why you should use LED lights. Let’s move on to the LED High Bay Lights buyer’s guide.

Create a Layout

When you’re looking for a High Bay UFO LED Light, you should have a clear idea of why you need one and where you’ll put it. For various locations, you will require a different light that is appropriate for the location and meets the standards. Consider the following scenario:

Retail Business: A strong light is required in a retail store to attract more consumers. To illuminate a retail store, you’ll need at least 800 lux on the ground.
Warehouse: In a warehouse, choosing 500 lux is critical in order to improve the supervisors’ working environment.
Storage: A light of 300 lux is quite much sufficient for storage.

It’s time to pick the wattage once you’ve determined the criteria.

Selecting Wattage for LED High Bay Lights

High bay lights are available in a number of wattages to fit a variety of applications and lighting requirements. The performance of particular wattage ranges was extremely stable across different manufacturers in the past; hence a light’s output was commonly measured in watts. This made it simple for purchasers to choose replacement light fixtures and arrange the amount and positioning of lighting in new buildings.

However, today’s market has a broad range of performance, with some manufacturers producing far more efficient lighting than others. LED lights utilize far less energy than traditional lighting, making it challenging for individuals who are experienced with metal halide and HID technologies to select the right wattage LED high bay for their needs. To aid in the decision process, the figure below displays popular HID wattage levels for high bays and how they match to contemporary LED technologies.

Low Wattage (30-90 Watts) — These lights are often in the 30 to 90 watt range at the low end of the wattage spectrum. They’re most popular among users who want to light up tiny areas with the least amount of electricity. Many high bay lights in this wattage range also have the advantage of being plug-and-play with existing outlets, eliminating the need for manual rewiring.
Medium Wattage (100-230 Watts) — The most popular for commercial and industrial uses, these medium wattage high bay lights are in the center of the spectrum. For the majority of applications, lights in this wattage range provide the optimum mix of lumen production and power consumption and are typically found in warehouses, commercial buildings, and industrial centers.
High-Efficiency High Bays (280-360 Watts) – These lights, which are at the top of the wattage range, provide the most powerful lighting while still using the energy-saving features of LED technology. They are typically used in sports arenas, stadiums, and other venues with high ceilings and a great need for light.

Appropriate Lumen Rating

It’s vital to choose the right lumen rating for your application in order to get the best lighting results and get the most out of your money. In today’s market, lumen output has largely replaced watts as the primary indicator of a light’s performance. Because most people still conceive of lighting performance in terms of watts, switching to lumens as the primary measurement of a light’s output might be perplexing. However, for the foreseeable future, this is how the lighting industry will assess performance; therefore, it’s critical to understand how lumen ratings translate into real-world performance.

The amount of lumens caused by LED lighting is normally related to the wattage of the light fixture; however, this varies by manufacturer. As a result, we’ve compiled a list of popular lumen ranges to aid in the purchasing process:

Low Lumens (4,000-20,000) — These lights are designed for situations that require a high-value light with a great energy economy. These lights are often used in trade and manufacturing facilities to illuminate minor to medium-sized regions, as well as non-critical locations that do not require high lighting.

21,000-35,000 Lumens (Medium Lumens) – This is by far the most popular lumen range, and lights in this range are frequently employed in large-scale activities like warehouses and commercial buildings. They are in high demand because of their unique combination of stunning lighting and energy economy. Furthermore, these lights are often reasonably priced, making them accessible to a wide spectrum of customers.

High Powered High Bays (40,000-50,000) — These are the most powerful lights and are utilized when maximum lighting is the primary goal. While these lights still benefit from LED technology’s energy efficiency, they consume the most watts of any high bay light in order to produce their lumen output. These lights are frequently used in sports stadiums, arenas, public venues, and other situations where precise and powerful illumination is required.

Color Temperatures

In addition to selecting the appropriate wattage and lumen output for your application, it’s critical to identify the appropriate color temperature. This will differ based on the lighting’s overall purpose and goal. Certain color temperatures are more conducive to worker concentration and efficiency, while others are more conducive to relaxation and a happy attitude. To aid in the purchasing process, we’ve created a list of the most popular color temperatures available in high bay lighting today.

LED high bays with a color temperature of 5000K – 5000 Kelvin are by far the most prevalent. This color temperature emits a cold white light that resembles that of a daytime atmosphere. This is perfect for general lighting in warehouses, industrial plants, and other commercial environments where precise lighting is required. Because it is the most natural of all color temperatures, it also works best with higher CRI lighting.

4000K — 4000 Kelvin LED lights emit a warm, natural-colored light that is typical in offices. Despite the fact that this color temperature is less prevalent than 5000K high bay fixtures, many electrical contractors and building managers prefer it. This is owing to the fact that it has a warmer feel and closely resembles the color temperature of traditional lighting like HIDs and fluorescent lights. As a result, 4000K high bays are widely available in the LED lighting industry.

3000K – 3000 Kelvin is a warm LED light hue that is commonly used in restaurants and homes. Because these lights are built for bigger structures such as warehouses and commercial gyms, rather than residential or hospitality lighting applications, 3000K LED bulbs are unusual in high bay fixtures.

Types and Applications of High Bay Lighting

Workshops, car repair facilities, manufacturing plants, warehouses, indoor sports arenas, fitness centers, and even large-scale retail stores all employ high bay lighting. Because of their high power-to-size ratio, they’re perfect for applications where standard lighting can’t offer adequate illumination. The following is a list of the most common high bay lighting fixtures:

UFO High Bays: These circular-shaped lamps are the main lighting choice for workshops, warehouses, and other industrial spaces and are named from their similarity to a conventional UFO. Their appeal stems from a number of essential characteristics that make them an outstanding choice, including exceptional longevity, high lumen output, and a small, easy-to-set-up and-install design. This design produces highly concentrated illumination while also being energy-efficient and low-maintenance.

Linear High Bays: These long LED tube lights are useful in situations that demand high bay lighting that covers a larger area than a traditional UFO light. Commercial facilities and storage spaces, especially those that prioritize simplicity and cost-effectiveness in their lighting configuration, prefer linear high bays. They have a broader beam angle than UFO-style high bays, allowing them to illuminate a bigger area while using fewer lumens.

Mounting Options

Suspension Hook Mount: The most common of all high bay mounting solutions, these mounts hang a light from a roof at a variable distance depending on the application. While they do necessitate some suspension system adaptation, they are extremely simple to install and occasionally do not require any modifications to the mounting position. Although they may potentially mount anyplace with a hook, they usually employ cables or chains for their suspension mechanism.

V-Hooks: These are common hooks that are used to suspend high bay fixtures from a ceiling or other elevated surface. They are usually distinct components that are fastened into the fixture using normal electrical conduit threading. Most of them also include a locking screw to keep them in place and prevent inadvertent disengagement and falling.

Yoke Attach Bracket: These brackets are used to mount UFO type high bay lights on a level surface with angle adjustments to fit sloping roofs. These are also common for lights set against a ceiling, particularly in institutions with lower roofs that want to employ high bay lighting.

Surface Mount: These are the most close-fitting mounts for situations that require the most vertical space under the light. Surface mount lights do this by using a low-profile fixed-angle bracket that allows the unit to be as near to the ceiling or mounting surface as possible while yet allowing for adequate heat dissipation and ventilation.

Rod and Plate Mount: This mounting technique employs conduit style rods to link a high bay light fixture to a metal mounting plate fastened to the ceiling, similar to suspension mounts. These are the most fashionable of all suspended or hanging mounting methods, as they allow you to encase the wire in a sleek rod that can subsequently be painted or customized to match the facility’s interior decor.

FAQs about High Bay Lighting

1. What are LED high bay lights, exactly?

These are lighting fixtures that are meant to be suspended from a high ceiling. These lights, which are commonly employed in huge facilities, feature a narrow light pattern that delivers powerful lighting over the surface below. They come in many shapes and sizes, but circular or spherical UFO-type lights are the most common due to their adaptability.

2. What is the best way to hang high bays?

Based on application requirements, high bay lights can be hung or mounted in a variety of ways. Suspending the fixtures from the ceiling by a cable, chain, or another mechanism is the most popular and easiest installation option. A v-hook or pendant hook is usually linked to the rear of the fixture, to which the chain or cable is joined.

Direct installation, which may be done with either a surface mount or a yoke mount, is another popular method. Surface mounting has the smallest profile and is ideal for level ceilings that do not need the fixture to be adjusted in any way. Yoke mounting is similar; however, it allows for modifications for angled ceilings.

3. What are the advantages of using LEDs for high bay lighting?

Using LED technology in high bay lighting fixtures has a number of advantages. The fundamental reason for this is because LED lights consume far less energy than classic lights such as HIDs. Furthermore, LED fixtures require no maintenance during their lifetime, resulting in considerable cost savings in terms of both components and labor hours. When compared to traditional lighting sources, they also create a more precise and higher quality of light, which improves visibility and safety.

4. How many high bay lights will I require?

The quantity of high bay fixtures you’ll need for your project is determined by a variety of factors. The first step is to figure out how many lumens you’ll need for your coverage area. After that, you’ll need to figure out how many fixtures you’ll need to meet your application’s needs, which is based on how many lumens each light produces. The height of the fixtures from the ground will also affect this since the higher a light is off the ground, the more watts it will take to produce adequate illumination.

Obviously, this is a difficult undertaking, and it is recommended to get the advice of a commercial LED lighting professional to design your project correctly. Working with a professional will help you save money while increasing the amount of light in your space.

5. How do you go from metal halide to LED?

Depending on how the present lighting configuration is designed, there are a variety of approaches to retrofit lighting systems with LEDs. In many circumstances, replacing the current bulb with a new LED fixture that produces a comparable lumen output is the simplest and most basic solution. In other cases, reconfiguring a complete lighting system plan to update LED technology properly may be necessary. There are a few cases when an LED retrofit kit may be used to update an existing fixture, but this needs some electrical knowledge to execute successfully.