High-Bay Lighting for Industrial Spaces
Designing efficient, safe, and compliant lighting for warehouses, factories, and logistics facilities.
High-Bay Fundamentals
High-bay fixtures are designed for mounting heights of **6-20+ meters** in warehouses, factories, hangars, and gymnasiums. They deliver **10,000-40,000+ lumens** per fixture with beam angles optimized for their mounting height. LED high-bays have replaced HID (metal halide, HPS) due to **60-70% energy savings**, instant-on, better uniformity, and dramatically longer life.
Mounting Height & Optics Selection
| height | beam angle | typical wattage | spacing ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-8m | 90-120 degrees | 100-150W | 1.0-1.2x height |
| 8-12m | 60-90 degrees | 150-200W | 0.8-1.0x height |
| 12-16m | 45-60 degrees | 200-300W | 0.6-0.8x height |
| 16-20m | 30-45 degrees | 300-500W | 0.5-0.7x height |
| 20m+ | 15-30 degrees | 500W+ | 0.4-0.6x height |
Smart Controls for Massive Savings
In a 10,000 sqm warehouse, lighting can cost over $50,000/year. **Occupancy sensors** (microwave, not PIR, due to racking obstructing line-of-sight) dim unoccupied aisles to 20%. **Daylight harvesting** through roof skylights further reduces consumption. **Zonal scheduling** adjusts lighting by shift (day/night). Combined smart controls deliver **70-80% savings** over traditional always-on HID.
Aisle Racking Considerations
In racked warehouses, vertical illuminance on rack faces is more important than horizontal floor lux. Standard horizontal measurements miss the fact that pick faces in tall aisles are dark. Specify minimum 150 lux vertical on the lowest shelf face. Use asymmetric or aisle optics designed for between-rack illumination.