Upgrading Your Warehouse with LED Lighting

Research has found that switching your High-Bay lighting to LED lighting can drastically change the amount of money your business spends on energy costs overnight. Making the change to LED lighting can reduce your business’s energy costs by about 60% according to the US Department of Energy.

Indoor lighting spaces with ceilings 25 feet or more are defined as “high-bay” lighting. Most of the electricity used during operation goes to these types of light fixtures. Most of the time we find businesses that are using these fixtures are wasting large amounts of electricity due to outdated technology.

With LED lighting saving an average of 60% of lighting efficiency costs overnight, any warehouse that takes advantage of an LED Lighting upgrade will see a decreased cost in their electric bill each month. Upgrading your businesses and warehouses will make a huge impact on your overhead costs immediately.

Lighting is an important aspect that any warehouse owner must not underestimate. Most warehouses use either linear fluorescent or metal halide lights. Not only do LED lights help save lighting costs, but LED lighting upgrades to have several other benefits.

Also read: Reducing Energy Costs to Increase Your Bottom Line

TOP 5 Benefits of LED Warehouse Lighting:

1. Reducing Maintenance

Most times warehouse lighting requires ceilings to be 25 feet or more, this makes these fixtures some of the most difficult to maintain. This often requires special equipment Because of their height and the large number of bulbs required in each fixture.

LEDs have a long life span of 50,000 to 100,000 hours. With such an extensive life span, you can expect 11 years of continuous use and 22 years of 50% operation. Warehouses with LED technology do not require frequent maintenance only helping your business’s bottom line.

2. Reduced Heat Output

When using LED lights, they emit very little heat. This means not only is it a safety advantage, but it also saves money on cooling costs. The high temperatures produced by traditional fixtures can cause a warehouse to fluctuate in temperature. For example, a warehouse that’s maybe cool in the morning may be very warm and stuffy in the afternoon. Drastic temperature changes can have a negative impact on employee productivity.

In cold storage warehouses, the energy savings extend beyond the fixtures themselves. Around 75% of the energy used by metal halide lamps and incandescent bulbs is released as heat. The more lighting your warehouse has the bigger the problem. For example, 25, 450-watt metal halide lamps can produce about as much heat as a 45,000 BTU heater.
If you are using the lighting for any length of time inside these facilities not only is the energy being wasted because of their inefficiency but the cooling units are forced to work harder.

3. Safety and Quality Lighting

Safety is normally a top priority in business and is most often overlooked when it comes to lighting. Using LED lighting in warehouses can make for a safer and more productive work environment. When employees can see more clearly then employees can move around the warehouse much easier. Quality lighting can help reduce headaches, eye strain, and poor posture. When employees are uncomfortable, their concentration decreases and can affect their productivity.

In warehouses, LED lighting helps employees to have improved visibility to see other employees and potential obstacles. For example, forklift operators can move throughout a facility loading areas better with improved visibility reducing the risk of injury or damage to property.

4. Dimming and Lighting Controls

Many warehousing fixtures can take a while to reach their full brightness, metal halides can take 15-20 minutes to turn on after you have switched them on. This means that lights often need to run for a longer period than they otherwise would need to, thus costing you more money.

With LED Lights, you do not have such issues, as switching them on or off is very quick. You can instantly turn the lights on and off without any degradation to the light output or the device itself.
LED lights are brighter than regular lights, making it easier to illuminate dark areas within your warehouses, but this is not always optimal either. In this situation, you may like the option of having dimming controls on your lighting fixtures, and LEDs work very well with dimming controls.

As opposed to metal halides, which require full power to run efficiently, LED lights are more efficient when running at less power. LED lighting provides a smart lighting solution that is highly adaptable to all kinds of warehouse settings.

5. Better Lighting

When choosing to light for warehouses we recommend LED lighting. LEDs generate a cool white light that is closer to natural daylight. This is important to make sure aisles, staircases, catwalks, and high-traffic corners are brightly lit for maximum safety and productivity. LEDs eliminate the orange that sodium vapor lamps give you.