High Bay Lights: Buying Guide

With a reputation for excellence brought about through years of innovation and quality design, high bay LED shop lights outperform traditional shop lights with ease. High bay LED lights are specifically designed for taller ceilings, typically 20 to 45 feet, and offer enough light intensity to be dispersed over large areas or highly focused on critical spots. With so many options on the market, it can be daunting to decide which lighting fixture will best illuminate your space. Fear not. Our high bay LED lighting buying guide will walk you through the process to help you find the perfect LED light fixtures to suit your needs.

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By Warehouse Lighting

Why Choose LEDs for High Bay Lights?

For years, warehouse, industrial, business and recreational settings have relied on high bay lights in spaces with ceilings ranging from 20 to 45 feet tall to provide sufficient light (no less than 10,000 lumens). High bay LED lights vastly improve upon conventional lighting options— including metal halide, high-pressure sodium and fluorescent bulbs—in many ways.

• Lower Operation & Maintenance Costs. LEDs have a lifespan of more than 50,000 hours, which is four to forty times as long as their conventional counterparts. Not only does this equate to less expense over time on replacement bulbs, but it also means less time (and money) spent on actually changing the bulbs. Replacing high bay lighting bulbs often requires more time and special equipment, like scaffolding, catwalks and hydraulic lifts, to safely reach the light fixtures.
• Outstanding Lighting Performance. One of the biggest draws of LEDs is the exceptional light quality they offer. Light quality is determined by measuring the color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperatures (CCT) and the foot candle of a light source. By all measures, LEDs outperform conventional light sources. They are able to reflect object colors faithfully (CRI) while offering versatility in color “temperature” (CCT) and impressive light efficiency (foot candle). In addition to this, LEDs are almost instantly on, as opposed to their traditional lighting counterparts, which can take as long as thirty minutes to reach full brightness.
• Unparalleled Energy Efficiency. The cost-saving energy efficiency of LEDs is often the driving factor for businesses to install high bay LED light fixtures. Losing only 5% of their energy to heat, LEDs require far less electricity to generate the same (or better) lumens per square foot (foot candles). In addition to this, most conventional warehouse and factory light sources are omnidirectional, which means they output light in all directions. Much of the light from conventional sources is pointed in areas that do not need direct illumination (like the ceiling). LEDs, on the other hand, waste less light by delivering direct light distribution. These two factors taken together make LEDs some of the most energy-efficient lighting options available.

What are the Different Types of LED High Bay Lights?

High bay LED light fixtures are available in many shapes and sizes, each offering different light qualities and coverages to suit your needs. The type of high bay lights you opt for will depend on your specific space and purpose. High bay LED light fixtures provide different beam angles, allowing you to select the optimal light shape to best illuminate your space. Here are some of the most popular high bay LED light fixture styles.

Round (UFO) High Bay Light Fixtures

Commonly called UFO high bays because of their saucer-like shape, round LED high bay lights have only one contact point with the ceiling, making them the easiest high bays to install. Round high bay LED lights typically provide a circular light beam angle of about 120 degrees. This fairly large beam spread allows for widespread, but powerful, illumination. These are an excellent choice for open areas, like factories, warehouses, sports arenas, grocery and wholesale retailers, and even aircraft hangars. 

Warehouse Lighting offers a wide range of UFO high bay LED lighting fixtures from top names in the industry, including WareLight, MaxLite, Westgate and others.

• Our UFO high bay LED lights range in intensity from a gentle 78 watts all the way up to 220 watts, with voltages ranging from 120-277, and even 480v.
• These LED UFO shop lights give you up to 100,000 hours of illumination.
• They are also wet/damp listed, enabling you to use them in harsh conditions, like those seen in industrial laundries, processing plants and car washes.

Linear High Bay Light Fixtures

Linear high bay lights are commonly seen in grocery stores, wholesale retailers, warehouses and any other wide-open spaces with a lot of aisles or shelving. They provide ideal lighting for conference halls, event centers and fitness centers, too. Similar in appearance to a fluorescent T8, linear high bays are long, with varying widths to offer rectangular illumination to suit your space’s needs. They can be mounted directly to the ceiling or hung with chains or cables, depending on your needs.

We offer a wide selection of linear high bay LED light fixtures from the most trusted brands in the industry, such as Texas Fluorescents, WareLite and more.

• Our linear LED high bays are available in a wide variety of wattages, voltages, lumen outputs, color temperatures and dimensions to accommodate any space where they are needed.
• In some models, linear high bay LED bulbs last for up to 50,000 hours.

High Bay Vapor Tight Fixtures

Sealed and gasketed to protect their internal parts from fumes, dust, moisture, rust and corrosion, LED high bay vapor tight fixtures are commonly used in locations that see a lot of dirt or moisture. In fact, because they are sealed to block out moisture and particulates, they are easily cleaned with a hose or pressure washer. They are typically linear in form, available in 2-, 4- and 8-foot lengths. LED high bay vapor tight fixtures are often installed in car washes, parking garages, industrial kitchens, bakeries, food processing plants, swimming pools and spray down bays.

Warehouse Lighting carries the highest quality LED high bay vapor tight fixtures from the most trusted manufacturers on the market.

• Each of our LED high bay vapor tight fixtures is sealed in a watertight IP67 rated enclosure, making them IP67 Dust and Liquid and UL Wet Location compliant.
• We use only the highest quality components in our fixtures and back each of our ballasts with a 5-year warranty.

Designing a Warehouse Lighting Layout

As you begin outfitting your space with high bay LED light fixtures, the first step is figuring out what type and how many high bays you will need. To do this, you will need to consider the size of the space that you’re lighting, how tall the ceilings are, and how you will be using the space. Different purposes will require different lighting styles.

• Storage — Typically, storage rooms are just used to house goods. Enough to see what’s what, around 300 lux, is all that’s needed.
• Warehouses — Ample light is needed to see the items in the warehouse and to keep employees safe. No less than 500 lux is generally required for warehouse lighting.
• Retail stores — A brighter environment will allow customers to see your products better and make the space feel clean (and safe). Aim for around 800 lux.
• Sports arenas — Lighting standards for sports arenas are set by the governing bodies for each sport (associations, federations, etc.). Depending on the class level for your sports arena, your lighting needs will vary. Lighting requirements can be as low as 75 lux and go as high as 750 lux.

Ceiling Height Ideal Lumen Output High Bay Spacing 20-30 feet 22,000-35,000 lumens 15-25 feet 31-40 feet 35,000-47,000 lumens 19-29 feet 40+ feet 47,000+ lumens 30-40 feet

These estimates give you a sense for what and how many high bay LED lighting fixtures you will need, but each space and purpose will require a unique lighting layout.

Deciding Color Temperature

Color temperature plays a role in creating the right environment for your facility. Color temperature determines whether the light appears warm, neutral, or cool. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide:

• K (Warm White): Best for spaces like employee break rooms or low-intensity work environments. This warmer light can create a calmer atmosphere.
• K (Neutral White): Ideal for general-purpose lighting. It replicates natural daylight, reducing eye strain and increasing productivity in environments like offices, warehouses, and assembly areas.
• K (Cool White): Perfect for areas requiring high visibility, such as inspection zones, retail spaces, or warehouses. This cooler light is crisp and bright, enhancing contrast and detail.

When choosing color temperatures, think about how the lighting will affect the functionality of your space. If you still aren't sure, we have a plethora of high bays with selectable CCT so you can change the color temperature as needed!

Energy Savings from High Bay LED Lights

One of the most important reasons to use LED high bay lighting is the significant energy savings it offers. LEDs use 60-80% less energy compared to traditional lighting options like HID. This stems from two key factors:

1. Minimal Energy Waste: Unlike traditional fixtures that lose a large portion of energy to heat, LEDs convert nearly all their energy into usable light, making them far more efficient.
2. Targeted Light Distribution: LEDs are designed to direct light precisely where it’s needed, reducing wasted light on ceilings or other non-essential areas like traditional lights do.

These energy savings translate directly into lower electricity bills, especially in facilities that operate lights for long hours. For businesses, this means significant cost reductions over time.

Trust Warehouse Lighting to Keep You Illuminated

At Warehouse Lighting, we pride ourselves on carrying only the best lighting fixtures manufactured by the most trusted brands around. We know how important reliable lighting is and will help you select the best LED high bay lights for your unique lighting needs.

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LED lights, over time, have gained enormous popularity because of their cost-saving and eco-friendly nature. However, despite these benefits, business owners often wonder whether or not LEDs can replace the lighting products that they have been using for decades. Well, the answer is yes! LED lights, at the moment, are the most versatile lighting products available in the marketplace. Whether looking for panel lights for your office or floodlights for large stadiums, there is an LED lighting solution for all kinds of applications. Large spaces with high ceilings such as manufacturing units warehouses, gyms and large recreational facilities are a few challenging setups where you might need high power lights such as LED High Bays for better visibility. LED High Bay lights help in illuminating large spaces, efficiently and evenly, which in turn increases the productivity of the manpower, as suggested by a study conducted by International Journal of Ergonomics.

Understanding LED High Bay Lights

As discussed earlier, High Bay LED lights are specially designed lights, commonly used in large spaces with ceiling height ranging from 20 to 40 feet. Depending upon your requirement and design of the facility you can either use chains or can directly attach these high bay lights to the ceiling.

Just like other LED lights, High Bays also have a range of options, each one exclusively designed to cater to a different need. Although it might occur as a difficult task to differentiate between them, the following points can help you choose the most suitable one for your commercial or industrial setting.

1.              Analyzing Layout

The first thing that you must do as a smart buyer is - analyze the layout of your setup as your choice of LED High Bay lights will vary depending upon the type of space you own. For example, an LED High Bay with 30 foot-candles of light intensity is usually enough to light up a storage room, however, you might require one with 50 foot-candles to illuminate a warehouse uniformly. Not just that, a retail store might need even brighter lights (about 80 foot-candles) so that all the products within the store are visible. Analyzing the layout plan of your facility, in the beginning, will help you ensure that you buy just the right lights for your commercial or industrial set up and nothing else.

2.      Ascertaining the Watts and Lumens Required

Watt is the measure of the amount of electricity consumed by light while in use, whereas lumens is the measuring unit for the amount of visible light produced by a lighting source. Talking about the two, you must determine both the things, well before making a final buying decision. Moreover, do consider the size and height of your facility before purchasing LED High Bay lights as different watts of lights are considered suitable for different heights. If the height of your space ranges between:

• 10-15 feet, then the bulb needed, must produce 10,000 - 15,000 lumens
• 15-25 feet, then the bulb needed, must produce - 25,000 lumens
• 30-35 feet, then the bulb needed, must produce more than equal to 36,000 lumens

3.      Deciding the Number of Lights Required

This is the step where preparing a layout and determining the lumens beforehand can prove beneficial. Moreover, almost all reputable lighting brands offer a free photometric layout, which makes it easier for you to decide the number of lights needed at your facility and the distance between each one of them. Additionally, this comprehensive pre-planning will help you avoid unnecessary installation of fixtures, thereby saving you a large chunk of money.

4.      Determining the type of High Bay Lights Required

As mentioned earlier, LED High Bay Lights are available in a variety of designs which is why it is difficult to choose the one that is most suitable for your facility. That being said, depending upon the shape, LED high bay lights are mainly divided into two sub-categories:​​​​​​

• UFO High Bay Lights

Image Source: https://www.ikioledlighting.com/product/superia-ufo-high-bay

• Linear High Bay Lights

Image Source: https://www.ikioledlighting.com/product/superia-linear-high-bay

UFO high bays are round in shape; whereas Linear high bays are long.

Linear high bays, also called panel-style high bays, provide superior light distribution and are also larger in comparison to the UFO fixtures. They are also considered an ideal replacement for traditional fluorescent T5HO and T8 high bays.

UFO high bays on the other hand, are a great choice for large warehouses and are IP rated for wet locations. Moreover, when looking for a direct replacement of traditional metal halides, UFO high bays is the most suitable option. However, if the project you have undertaken is a new build, your choice of LED high bays will vary accordingly. In case the height of the ceiling is more than 35 feet, its best to use UFO high bay lights as they render better light output and beam spread than Linear LED high bays. In addition, the placement of the light fixture on the ceiling also affects your choice of high bay light.

5.      Managing the Voltage of the lights

When looking for lighting options for a commercial and industrial set up you might face an occasional need for high voltage fixtures. Well, with LED high bays there is rarely any need to set the voltage as they can automatically adjust to the incoming voltage. However, you can find LED high bay lights in the following voltage ranges:

• 100 - 277 V
• 277 - 480 V
• 347 - 480 V

6.      Choosing the Color Temperature

Color temperature is a characteristic of light that is measured on the Kelvin scale. Light with a higher number on the Kelvin scale is more warm and yellow, whereas the one with a lower number is cool and blue. Most people consider a color temperature of more than K as harsh which might lead to headaches. This is why, in a home like environment, it is suggested to not exceed K; however, if you are looking to replace a metal halide fixture in your large industrial setup, an LED high bay light with a color temperature more than equal to K is just perfect.

7.      Considering the CRI

Color Rendering Index (CRI) is the ability of a lighting product to reveal the actual colors of different objects. A lighting source with 70+ CRI is deemed as a good option for large industrial setups, however, in the case of manufacturing units where colors might play a vital role; choose a lighting source with a higher CRI (80 - 90).

Since different application areas require different LED High Bay Lights, these recommendations can come in handy in your decision-making process and help you illuminate your spaces appropriately.

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