Appropriate warehouse lighting can improve safety in the warehouse and reduce work errors by employees while providing ample and comfortable lighting.
In this complete guide, we'll answer all your questions regarding choosing the proper warehouse lighting system, what type of lighting to choose, the needed lux, and color temperature. So, let's dive in.
Benefits of Warehouse Lighting
If you want your warehouse operations to run safely and smoothly, upgrading your current lighting system would be a great decision. Here are the benefits of installing proper warehouse lighting.
-
Provide sufficient light with the right CRI. This means that in addition to the right lumens to increase visibility, the light should be able to show the true details of various objects.
-
Offer cool operating temperature. LED lights have the advantage of not heating up compared to traditional bulbs.
-
Reduce heavy equipment accidents. Light fixtures should be installed to improve employee safety in the warehouse. For example, sufficient glare-free lighting can help forklift drivers drive safely as well as pedestrians
-
Reduce electricity costs. The right warehouse lighting will provide the needed lumens while using less energy and power. It can be reduced by more than 70%"
-
The warehouses will be more environmentally-preferable for reducing carbon emissions with less energy consumption and less waste.
Warehouse Lighting Solutions
Lighting energy bills are part of warehouse costs, and for warehouses operating at a high pace, opting for more energy-efficient, longer-lasting lighting is a good idea to improve profit margins. The right choice of lighting can help you solve the following problems.
With LED warehouse lighting, you can achieve numerous benefits.
- Reduced energy use. LED lighting can reduce energy use by more than 70% compared to traditional incandescent lamps, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
- Reduced Maintenance Costs – Longer-lasting LED lighting reduces maintenance on incandescent lamps and ballasts.
- Lighting Control. From manually adjusting lumens to Bluetooth-controlled lighting, the lighting can be configured flexibly.
- Versatile mounting and installation options will give you enough freedom to tweak your lighting fixtures to better suit your warehouse space.
It's safe to say that LED lighting solutions check all the boxes when it comes to choosing the proper warehouse lighting. There are multiple LED fixtures available for warehouse installation, and they're all designed to improve workspace productivity by providing the right illumination that avoids increasing energy consumption.LED lights are safe, durable, and easy to install and maintain, so switching from your current lighting system to new LED lights makes sense if you want to increase your warehouse productivity.
What Wattage or Lumens are Suitable for Warehouse Lighting?
Choosing the right brightness is critical for warehouses, depending on the space application scenario. Thinking about lighting in terms of watts isn't the only thing you should think about, as you should also think about the lighting lumens, which is a more accurate unit of measuring brightness.
|
Ceiling Height |
Watts |
|
Less than 15 feet |
80-watt fixtures |
|
Between 15 and 25 feet |
100 or 105-watt fixtures |
|
45 feet |
240-watt fixtures |
|
50 feet |
320-watt fixtures |
What is the Proper Height for Installing Light Fixtures?
In general, the higher you go, the brighter the light and further the spacing should be. Here's a table to show the lumens needed for a warehouse of 1000 square feet area
|
Ceiling Height |
Lumens |
Spacing |
|
10 feet |
32,000 |
10 feet |
|
15 feet |
35,000 |
14 feet |
|
25 feet |
39,000 |
20 feet |
|
35 feet |
42,000 |
25 feet |
Wide-beam light can be installed at an angle between 90 and 120 degrees for open areas between shelves and corridors. For shelves and narrower areas, you can install narrow beam light of angle 60 degrees or long beam light of angle 120 degrees to guarantee that the light won't be blocked by top shelves.
What Color Temperature Should I Choose for My Warehouse?
Most warehouses choose 5000K, which reduces eye strain and improves employee comfort. These light fixtures provide bright white light for large indoor and outdoor spaces.
The bright and crisp light shows all the details in the warehouse space to improve workers' productivity and reduce the risk of accidents.
Lighting Design Uses
Deciding on the lux of your lighting system depends on the use of the space in your warehouse. One lux is equal to the illumination of one square meter that is one meter away from one candle. Therefore, the lux is different from the lumen, which measures the brightness of the light.
Here are some examples.
|
Lux |
Use |
Application |
|
40 lux |
Rare use |
Bulky materials storage and less used corridors |
|
80 lux |
Medium use |
Loading bays and storage rooms where there's a need to search for goods and materials |
|
160 lux |
Continuous use |
General warehouse work where reading labels, packing, dispatching, and storage of materials and goods is needed. Also works for offices, rest areas, and corridors where machinery work is done. |
|
240 lux |
Continuous use |
Food preparation and office areas in addition to some detailed work in the warehouse. |
|
300 lux |
Continuous use |
Control rooms and generator rooms to see wires and fixtures. |
|
400 lux |
Visually demanding tasks |
Packing and dispatching of small goods, inspection, spot welding, and general maintenance work. |
|
700 lux |
Visually demanding tasks |
Tool shop, computer drawing stations, and spots where workers are working on delicate objects and projects. |
Warehouse Lighting Configuration
There are some lighting considerations you need to take into account to improve employee comfort. These include lux, UGR, and CRI.
Considerations for lighting:
-
Soft Lighting to improve comfort and avoid dazzling.
-
No stroboscopic to better ensure lighting quality
-
Sufficient Lumens to make sure the work area is bright enough to reduce the appearance of shadows.
-
Proper placement as light fixtures shouldn't be installed on top of shelves, as they'll block the light emitted. Instead, they should be placed in the center of aisles for more visibility.
Installation and Maintenance of Warehouse Lighting
Upgrading your warehouse lighting to LED lighting fixtures is an excellent solution because it improves visibility and is an energy and cost-efficient solution in the long run.
Installing suitable LED lighting in warehouses is a very effective solution as it provides comfortable visibility and thus avoids the negative impact on work due to lighting problems. This is critical to the proper functioning of production, manufacturing and storage areas.
Lighting maintenance is a part of keeping the work area in good operation. Compared with traditional lighting, LED lights can effectively reduce the maintenance.
Warehouse Lighting Layout
To achieve maximum illumination and visibility at the lowest cost, you might need to hire a professional expert to assess the space and decide on the right configuration for your warehouse.
However, you can do some basic planning by yourself, depending on the following factors.
-
warehouse space size
-
Ceiling height
-
Presence or absence of natural light
-
Lux level standards / Minimum lux level for working area
-
Beam angle
-
Do you have an open ceiling, so the warehouse will be exposed to water or dust?
Should You Upgrade to Warehouse LED Lighting?
LED lighting is suitable for warehouse illumination because it's easy to install, easy to maintain, and cost-efficient in the long run. There are multiple LED light fixtures and configurations that you can adapt to suit your warehouse, and they'll all guarantee more visibility and safety in your work area.
Installing the correct LED light configuration will increase warehouse productivity and reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs.
