
If high-intensity discharge (HID) light fixtures are still providing your warehouse lighting, a retrofit or replacement could provide multiple benefits. They include lower energy consumption, lower utility bills, reduced maintenance costs, and better quality lighting. And better lighting will, in turn, improve aesthetics, safety, security and quality control. Old HID sources typically include metal halide and high pressure sodium fixtures.
Plan out your warehouse lighting retrofit
Finding an effective warehouse lighting solution requires careful planning. There are a number of new industrial lighting technologies to choose from, but the latest and greatest might not meet the specific warehouse lighting requirements. A lot depends on how various spaces in the warehouse are laid out and what kind of tasks take place there. The challenge is to choose lights, ballasts and fixtures that provide the lumens, life, color and other criteria that meet your performance objectives while still providing energy savings and an acceptable payback on your investment.
Until recently, metal halide or highi pressure sodium high bays were the standard luminaires for open warehouse lighting, but they present a number of challenges. Because they have a long re-strike time, they can’t easily be switched off when areas are temporarily unoccupied. They are fragile when compared to newer technologies and need frequent replacing. That entails bringing in a lift, which is costly and disruptive to a warehouse’s workflow. HIDs are also much more energy-hungry than newer technology.Fluorescent Warehouse Lighting
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Induction Warehouse Lighting
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LED Warehouse Lighting
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Warehouse Lighting Controls
In addition to specifying luminaires, a warehouse lighting design may also include some type of control systems. One type reduces lighting when areas are unoccupied, and can work in several different ways. Switching systems turn lights on and off by connecting or removing lighting sources from the power supply. This type of system is simple, cost-effective, and useful in areas where an abrupt change in light levels will not be frequent or noticeable to occupants. Dimming systems adjust light output and power input over a specified range. A third option is “step-switching.” This is where multiple lamps in a single light fixture can be switched on and off independent of each other. This allows for a couple of steps between full and zero light output.Daylight harvesting increases efficiency
Another type of control system to consider is daylight harvesting, which involves installing photosensors near windows and skylights. Daylighting control systems dim or shut off lights when there is a sufficient amount of ambient light available. Determining the energy savings potential of any control strategy depends on a building’s space and lighting characteristics. But properly installed and adjusted, most control systems reliably save a substantial amount of energy. Obviously, in addition to meeting your lighting needs, your warehouse lighting retrofit must also make sense economically. If your lights are obsolete, but the utility rates in your area are so low that the energy savings from a retrofit would be negligible, you might be looking at a 15- or 20-year payback on your investment. However, if light levels are so poor that they are adversely impacting the work environment, retrofitting or replacing the lights will still make sense if viewed as an upgrade as opposed to an energy-savings project. Shop Lighting Controls and ComponentsTo summarize, these are the steps that will lead to an effective commercial warehouse lighting project:
- Determine the application needs based on what makes the warehouse run smoothly and efficiently
- Evaluate specific conditions – dirt, temperature concerns, space characteristics, tasks taking place in those spaces, your ability to service fixtures and lamps
- Consult with the manufacturer or distributor to find the fixtures that best meet those needs and conditions as well as your payback criteria – take into account all available utility rebates
- Determine how controls can further impact performance and energy savings