Lighting a space like a warehouse or manufacturing facility is a tall order. These cavernous applications require a layout that must take into account the number of luminaries, light distribution, color temperature, and other unique specifications. Whether your lighting involves a new construction project or a customized retrofit design, attention to detail is critical to ensuring proper lighting is achieved with an excellent return on investment.
Making wise lighting decisions for a large workspace can enhance productivity while significantly reducing your energy costs. With proper lighting, employees are able to view their work more clearly, concentrate more effectively, eliminate errors, and even increase efficiency. At the same time, it’s important to not lose sight of operating costs. LED high bay lighting is a smart, economical choice that will save big over metal halide and fluorescent alternatives.
At PROLIGHTING, we monitor the industry closely to bring you commercial lighting products that offer innovative and efficient solutions. We’ve hand-picked some of the top LED high bays currently on the market that we hope will assist you with your fixture selection. The options we’ve included may range in terms of style, but when it comes to durability, reliability, and lighting capabilities – all are of the highest standard.
Linear High Bays
Linear LED high bay fixtures offer even and uniform lighting. They are ideal for illuminating larger indoor applications with high ceilings – typically above 25 feet – including warehouses, retail spaces, manufacturing plants, and athletic facilities. The vast amount of space between floor and ceiling calls for a linear LED high bay with a high enough lumen output for quality, bright light to be focused down and out from the fixture. Our linear high bays are a one-to-one replacement for HID and fluorescent fixtures; delivering powerful efficiency and reducing energy use by up to 85%.
Linear LED models can be mounted directly to the ceiling or hung with chains, aircraft cables or v-hooks. They are available in a range of lumen packages, lengths (from <24″ to 48″) and wattages (from 75W to 400W). Color temperature is usually limited to 4000K or 5000K in order to achieve the bright, daylight look that’s needed in these types of environments. Eye strain, fatigue, and distractedness are all real concerns that employees face when working under too low light or harsh lighting from outdated fixtures.
RAB Lighting is well-known in the industry for their excellent craftsmanship, and the LED AEROBAY® is no different. The AEROBAY® has a cutting-edge, retractable construction that reduces volume by up to 60% – saving you a great deal of valuable shelf or storage space. With three size options and eight lumen packages, the AEROBAY® is designed to replace up to 1000W metal halide fixtures and can be mounted as high as 60 feet.
Multiple user-friendly options are available including 0-10V dimmability, surge protection, and battery backup. RAB’s AEROBAY® is also offered with either passive infrared motion sensing, or a Lightcloud® Controller or motion sensor which both function with RAB’s commercial, wireless lighting control system and service. RF occupancy and daylight capabilities are important for business owners who want to keep energy costs down. Another convenient feature is a 100,000 rated life. A long rated life is crucial because – while you won’t need to do it often – high bays do require extra time and labor to replace. The AEROBAY® also has a DLC Premium listing. This premium listing is important because it increases rebate opportunities.
Another suitable linear option is our PROLIGHTING® LED Linear High Bay. Like, the RAB AEROBAY®, the PROLIGHTING® LED Linear High Bay delivers excellent energy savings compared to similar fluorescent and HID fixtures. It also has the DLC Premium listing. Unlike the AEROBAY®, it’s offered in a single size – 24 inches.
Round UFO High Bays
Gone are the days of giant metal halide and high pressure sodium fixtures. Many people are opting for UFO LED high bays in favor of a lighter, sleeker design. As the name suggests, ‘UFO’ refers to the round shape of this style of high bay. These aesthetically pleasing, compact fixtures pack the latest LED technology and high-quality light output – essential for today’s commercial and industrial applications. They offer one of the best options for high ceilings – usually more than 20 feet – and will ensure an even spread of light throughout the space. UFO LED high bay fixtures are fast becoming the popular choice for illuminating large spaces from retail stores and warehouses to horse arenas and athletic facilities.
Sylvania has long been a trusted name in the industry, so it’s no surprise that their UFO LED High Bay is a long-time bestseller. The Sylvania UFO is extremely durable, impact-resistant, and built with an IP65 rated air-tight housing to eliminate exposure to hardware and crevices where moisture and bacteria can accumulate and cause safety issues.
Sylvania provides four wattages and three different color temperatures for their UFO LED High Bay – 3500K, 4000K, and 5000K (as we mentioned, something you won’t find with other high bays on this list). It can mount via hook, pendant or surface mount to adapt to a variety of applications. It can be used by itself, or with a coordinating polycarbonate refractor or aluminum reflector (sold separately). With this fixture you’ll enjoy a long 150,000 hour rated life and a DLC Premium listing.
For a comparable alternative, we recommend our PROLIGHTING® UFO LED High Bay. Our new series of round high bay is another great choice for replacing outdated metal halide fixtures to reduce maintenance and energy costs. You won’t find another UFO LED high bay with this type of performance at this price point. This fixture comes standard with a polycarbonate lens, and like Sylvania’s, the PROLIGHTING® UFO LED High Bay can be used in any retail, warehouse, gymnasium or industrial setting. It also has a DLC Premium listing. Both fixtures have a generous five-year warranty, which is something to appreciate whenever you’re dealing with harsh operating conditions.
LED T8 High Bays
Lastly, LED T8 High Bay Fixtures are another affordable option for indoor applications. Our LED T8 High Bays can be purchased with or without lamps (LED Ready), in 4, 6, or 8-lamp options. These fixtures boast low electricity usage, fast start times and quality light without glare. These high bays are especially useful in cases where reliability is key and long-lasting, maintenance-free lamps are needed so that you or your employees can focus on the task at hand. When a lamp does needs replacing, enjoy the ease of simply swapping out the bad tube rather than replacing the whole fixture. With all LED high bay lighting, there’s no UV or mercury being emitted, making them the ideal for the safety and well-being of yourself and your workers. The LED T8 High Bay comes standard in 48-inch length and has a regular DLC listing (when purchased with lamps).
An LED Ready T8 High Bay (without lamps) is ready for line voltage LED T8 tubes. It is built without a ballast and with non-shunted sockets for use with most LED T8 tubes on the market. Sockets on one end of the fixture are often pre-wired to a disconnect for quick hook-up. We also suggest purchasing and installing a separate occupancy sensor for added savings.
Our TechBrite LED T8 High Bays come pre-loaded with Keystone LED T8 Tubes in your choice of 4000K neutral white or 5000K daylight white. Like its lamp-less equivalents, the TechBrite LED T8 High Bay is built without a ballast and wired with non-shunted sockets. Sockets on one end of the fixture are pre-wired to a WAGO disconnect for quick hook-up. When LEDs fail, simply install a new LED T8 Lamp. The addition of an occupancy sensor will also provide those added savings.
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Of course there are additional factors to consider when choosing the right LED high bay lighting. You’ll have to determine how many fixtures you’ll need and spacing requirements based on the scope of your project. The nature of the work being done and the surrounding environment will also play an important part in deciding exactly which type of fixture to use. For instance, if you’ll need dimming capabilities, motion sensors, or if your fixtures must be resistant to weather, wash downs or harsh cleaning solvents. In facilities where color-sensitive work is carried out, something with a high CRI will be extremely useful.
With energy companies offering huge rebates, now is the perfect time to upgrade your existing commercial space to LED. Rebates have the potential to drastically reduce the upfront cost of your project and increase your return on investment. In many cases, investing in energy-saving LED high bay fixtures for your ‘back of house’ will allow you to shift your budget to other higher-impact areas of your business. With an LED upgrade, you’ll enjoy lowered maintenance and energy costs, and avoid safety concerns created by poor lighting conditions.
We don’t expect you to have all the answers. At PROLIGHTING, our goal is to provide you with the resources you need to complete your project easily and efficiently. Our certified lighting specialists can help you with technical questions, fixture selection, layouts and quotes. If you have any questions about the products on this list, reach out to our team. We’ll help you put together a lighting solution that meets your budget and shipping requirements. Give us a call, or use the live chat feature on our website.
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