Originally posted on https://www.t1-lighting.com/commercial-led-lighting-types/

 

If you’re interested in updating or installing commercial LED lighting at your facility, it’s important to consider the different types of commercial LED lighting before making a decision or purchase.

There is a wide variety of commercial lights and fixtures available today, which can quickly become overwhelming if you’re not sure what to look for. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the different types of commercial lighting so you know which type of light you need.

What is Commercial Lighting?

Commercial lighting is used to describe lighting that is employed in commercial environments in order to illuminate the space. A light-emitting diode (LED) has come a long way from what it was years ago to be a better replacement to incandescent, metal halide bulbs, and generally, traditional commercial lights.

Commercial LED lighting has a wide range of indoor/outdoor applications due to its energy-saving capabilities and the potential to significantly reduce utility cost.

They also come with a promise of a longer lifespan, higher maintenance, and better durability in comparison to other LED office lighting fixtures.

Commercial LED Lighting Types

The different types of commercial LED lighting available in the market offers a variety of options to settle on.

In the same vein, it can be more useful to know how to identify different types of LEDs in order to know what to be on the lookout for when making considerations on your lighting needs.

Here are 7 types of commercial LED lighting.

1. Recessed Troffer Light

LED recessed troffers are installed in an opening in the ceiling in a bid to allow light to shine down directly.

These lights replace CFL tubes and unlike the latter, their housing is usually hidden from view right inside the ceiling.

The recessed troffer light is one of the best options you’ll find due to its low heat emission.

2. Task Lights

As the name implies, these lights enable workers to complete a specific task.

Thus, they are suitable for use in workspaces in order to illuminate the environment.

Another good thing with these lights is that they can be installed easily.

They are a better replacement to high-pressure sodium (HPS), high-intensity discharge (HID), Incandescent, CFLs, and metal halide (MH), luminaries

3. Track Lighting

A track can also be used to mount adjustable light fixtures.

This track comes with electrical wiring which takes away the need to wire individual fixtures directly.

Track lighting is most mounted on walls or ceilings in workspaces or galleries due to their advantage of enabling adjustments as needed.

4. Outdoor Commercial Lights

LEDs are employed indoors and outdoors and in the case of the latter, it is for security purposes or to highlight certain areas of the business.

Some examples of outdoor commercial lights are the LED shoebox lights, LED wall packs, and floodlights.

LED Shoebox Lights

LED shoebox lights are mounted on a pole to serve as a parking lot light or street light.

There is usually a single mounting option even though there are avenues to order for alternatives.

Nonetheless, you’ll find LED shoebox lights with a slip-fitter mount for installing on the end of the pole.

In some cases, it is a direct-mount that is provided to enable the light’s installation by the side of the pole.

You can even opt to install sensors such as timers, photosensors, motion sensors, controls on outdoor lighting of this nature.

LED-wall Pack Light

Wall packs or wall mounted lights are installed by the side of a building.

They help to light the building’s exterior or the parking space in the area.

LED Outdoor Flood Lights:

LED outdoor flood lights aim to provide high-intensity light in a wide area and may be used to draw attention to monuments, pathways, or beautiful landscapes.

They are employed in commercial spaces and sports venues to cover nighttime sports.

In addition, they could serve as a temporary alternative to areas that do not already have floodlights installed.

There are also two types of floodlights and these are the directional and area floodlights.

Directional floodlights have found a use case in architectural wall washing and façade lighting while area floodlights are found in warehouses, parking lots, and outdoor stadium.

5. LED Warehouse Lighting

Specifically designed to cater to the need of warehouses for more light and glare prevention, this type of LEDs supply more than enough light for warehouse work.

For example, the high bay Fixture (UFO) has been employed in warehouses and they can be easily spotted as low hanging tube lights.

They serve as a good replacement for 400W metal halide bulbs since they feature 100W or 150W of LEDs that produce more light while consuming less power.

Another fixture that is used in warehouses to fit LED bulbs is the hanging troffer.

6. Lay-in Fixtures

Lay-in fixtures serve as a good replacement to recessed fluorescent lights.

They have more efficient fixtures and are installed along with the ceiling’s supporting hardware or flanges.

7. Desk Lamps

There are also LED desk lamps that provide even more light and a closer one.

This helps to prevent eyestrain and backache from having to hunch overwork in order to pick out minute details.

How to Choose the Best Commercial LED Lighting for Business

A commercial building which has decided to take advantage of LEDs will have to make certain considerations before settling for a particular type.

The type of commercial lighting will be dependent on the activity, goal, or function which the business seeks to accomplish on a daily basis.

That being the case, here are simple tips on how to choose the best-LED lighting for your business.

Color Temperature and Color Rendition

In order to enhance the productivity of your employee, you need to choose a commercial LED lighting that is in the right color temperature and color rendition.

What is right is dependent on your business goals and as such, the best light color for office work will vary from one business to the other.

Take, for instance, a restaurant that needs soft light in order to create the illusion of a welcoming space.

A warehouse, on the other hand, will need lighting that illuminates the workspace safely while a store will be better off with lighting that highlights the products and other displays.

Similarly, LED light temperature is valued in degrees kelvin (K).

If it ranges between 2,200 K to 3,000 K, it is a low temperature that is best suited for restaurants thanks to the cozy, warm-white light it can produce.

Around 3,500 K to 4,100 K is a midrange temperature that is ideal for task lighting as a result of the cool, bright light it offers.

There’s also a high temperature of 5,000 K to 6,500 K which is best used for security purposes or display lighting as a result of bluer white light that is comparable to daylight.

Color rendition, on the other hand, is defined by the International Commission on Illumination’s (CRI) Test Color Method which assesses color quality by evaluating how a light source gives the naked eye a distinctive color of an object.

CRI ranges between 0 to 100 and above 90 is bright as daylight while lower than 80 is midrange.

A good number of LEDs you’ll come across will have a CRI around 80 or higher.

Color Brightness and Dimness

The brightness of commercial ceiling lights can be rated in lumens which is how much light a bulb produces.

It is essential to pick an LED bulb in the right lumens.

What this does is to create the right brightness or dimness based on what you’re out to get.

For instance, a 100-watt incandescent bulb gives off 1,6000 lumens.

Too bright light can lead to headaches or eyestrain and too dim can be uncomfortable or dark and gloomy for the eye thereby affecting workers’ productivity at work.

Direct or Indirect Lighting

You have the choice of selecting direct or indirect lighting when it comes to commercial ceiling light fixtures.

How does each of these differ? you may wonder.

Direct lighting is used for task lighting which focuses light down to the surface below the light fixture.

It can be used in restaurants and office spaces.

On the contrary, Indirect lighting illuminates the space by concentrating light upward which helps it to bounce off walls and ceilings.

An LED lighting of this nature is used in a cafe in order to move attention to certain areas in the room.

Conclusion

The various types of commercial LED lighting to ensure that you are not stuck with just one type of lighting given that there are several spaces that can take advantage of them.

It is, therefore, left for you to select one that can optimally serve you well.

LEDs, in general, take the extra step of being energy efficient, reducing heat waste, and saving you huge expenses.

If you’re able to cut the cost in this aspect, it can significantly determine how much is saved on a yearly basis.

It all begins with selecting an LED bulb or light that can optimize your business’s level of performance.