HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LED SHOEBOX LIGHTS FOR YOUR PARKING LOT
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LED SHOEBOX LIGHTS FOR YOUR PARKING LOT
If you are considering upgrading your lights to LED, the parking lot lights should always be the first one to take into
consideration, because of the large service area of parking lot and the high energy consumption of traditional metal halide
parking lot light.
It’s not easy to research dozens of websites to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and answer all of your
questions about what is the right
LED shoe box light
Fixture for your needs. For this reason, we prepared some tips about
shoebox light, Parking Lot and Area Lighting in this article.
Here are several things you need to know before converting your facility:
1. Type of facility: Is the site retail, warehouse or other commercial use?
2. Type of fixture or lamp: Wall Packs, Shoeboxes, Flood Lamp
3. Wattage of existing lamps: This gives your LED manufacture insight to the LED equivalent needed.
4. Line voltage: LED products are voltage specific, and the LED installer will need to know this detail.
5. Needs from the changes: To increase/decrease the lighting output, address a specific problem or area, meet a specific
specification or code
6. The best color of light: The sun is 5778k, and in the LED industry, 5000k is considered to be the closest to natural
sunlight. Outdoor lighting is often oriented to a 5000k color.
7. Quality of LED products: Quality means you trust you will not have any warranty issues, service means if you do have
any issues, the integrity of service will be tasked to work its magic.
What is high bay lighting, and what applications benefit from it?
Whenever a large indoor space needs to be illuminated, high bay lighting is usually appropriate. Consider spaces like
manufacturing facilities, gymnasiums, warehouses, large department stores, factories, and more; these facilities are
typically vast and cover a lot of vertical as well as horizontal space. This requires powerful lighting to provide the
appropriate foot-candle levels to adequately illuminate. High bay lighting fixtures typically hang from the ceiling via
hooks, chains, or pendants, or they may be fixed to the ceiling directly (similar to troffer lights). The image above
features high bay lighting in action.
Various industries and facilities require high bay lighting. Some of the most common are:
Warehouses
Industrial facilities (read more about Industrial LED lighting here)
Manufacturing facilities
School and university gymnasiums
Municipal facilities like community centers or recreation centers
Commercial applications like department stores
Why choose LED high bay lights instead of metal halide, fluorescent, or other conventional high bay lights?
Historically, various lighting technologies were (and still are) used in warehouse and industrial settings when high bay
lights were required. Some of the most common include metal halide (MH), high pressure sodium (HPS), and fluorescent. While
each of these bulbs have their merits, industrial LED lighting outperforms its conventional counterparts in important ways.
Let’s take a look at some of the various considerations when deciding whether an LED retrofit is appropriate for your
warehouse or industrial space.
Industrial LED lighting vs metal halide
high bay light: If
you’ve ever been to a ballgame, you've likely seen metal halide illuminating the field. MH lamps are common in sporting
and warehouse/industrial uses (as well as any setting where large, high spaces need to be illuminated). Benefits of MH lights
include decent color rendering and comparatively adequate foot-candle levels (as opposed to other types of conventional
bulbs). Some of their major drawbacks are a long time to warm up (sometimes 15-30 minutes) and a high cost to maintain, and
their failure characteristics include flickering on and off. This is in addition to the fact that much of the energy they
produce is wasted as heat. Read more about LED versus Metal Halide Lights.
Linear LED high bay light vs high
pressure sodium (HPS) lights: HPS lights are often used in warehouse, industrial, business, and recreational facilities where
high bay lighting is appropriate. Their benefits include cheap selling price, high energy efficiency (low operating costs),
and a relatively long lifespan. HPS lighting technology retains these advantages over most conventional bulbs, but they lose
on all three counts to LED high bay lighting. The downsides of HPS bulbs include the worst color rendering on the market and
a warm up period. Read more about LED versus High Pressure and Low Pressure Sodium Lights.
Industrial LED lighting vs fluorescent lighting: Though somewhat less common, fluorescent lighting is sometimes utilized
in warehouse or industrial applications (primarily T12, T8, and T5 lights). The benefits of fluorescent lights include
cheaper initial costs and relatively high efficiency (especially when compared to other conventional bulbs). Downsides
include the presence of toxic mercury (which requires certain waste disposal procedures), decreased lifetime if switched on
and off, and requiring a ballast to stabilize the light. Read more about LED versus Fluorescent Lighting.
It’s no secret that LED lighting technology has surpassed the capabilities of conventional lighting in important ways.
In addition to the considerations discussed above, there are three general benefits of LED lighting that apply to all
lighting applications.
Decreased maintenance requirements. As discussed above, LED lights have a lifespan that is four to forty times longer
than many conventional bulbs. This means fewer replacements for bulbs that wear out. LED lighting technology also generates
light differently than typical fuel and filament lighting by using a diode (learn more in this blog). This means that there
are fewer moving pieces to break, and consequently, fewer repairs or replacements. Maintenance is an especially important
consideration when it comes to industrial lighting or warehouse lighting. By definition, high bay lights have higher mounting
heights, which means that changing a bulb requires some specialized equipment or creativity. Scaffolding, catwalks, and
hydraulic lifts are generally used to swap or replace bulbs, and each of these can result in additional maintenance or
equipment costs. Again, the lifespan of industrial LED lighting means that fixtures need to be changed much less often, which
means savings for your bottom line.
Improved lighting quality. Industrial LED lighting and high bay lights will typically score better in a head-to-head
comparisons against most other bulbs when it comes to color rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT), and
foot candles. CRI is a measurement of a light’s ability to reveal the actual color of objects as compared to an ideal light
source (natural light). In non-technical terms, CCT generally describes the “glow” given off by a bulb - is it warm
(reddish), or cold (bluish white)? Foot candles compare the amount of light coming from a source and the amount of light
hitting the desired surface; they’re basically a measure of efficiency. On all three fronts, LED lights perform very well.
(Read more about CRI, CCT, and foot candles here.)
Increased energy efficiency. Not only do LED lights generate light differently, they also distribute light differently
than conventional lighting solutions, which results in less energy required to provide the same output. How does that work?
First, many conventional lights waste a lot of the energy they produce by emitting it as heat (this is especially the case
with metal halide lighting). Second, most conventional
lights are omnidirectional,
which means that they output light in 360 degrees. So, a lot of light is wasted pointing at a ceiling, or being diluted
because it has to be redirected through the use of fixtures. Industrial LED lighting for applications that require high bay
lights eliminates these two problems of wasted energy (through heat loss and omnidirectional emission).
Indoor Plant Lighting
Indoor plant lighting gives plants most of the energy they need to grow, thrive, even to stay alive.
The proper type of indoor
plant light is more than just a matter of
giving a plant the brightness it needs. There are three lighting factors that control growth of a plant:
Amount of light: number of hours of daylight on your plants
Intensity of light: levels of light from full sun to full shade
Spectrum: warm and cool colors
Gas Station Lights
Every location has its own unique lighting needs. When it comes to
gas station lights, there are a few fixtures that are exceptionally well suited to this location. Let's
take a look at a few of the most common solutions for gas station lighting.
LED
When looking at fixture options, you should first determine the right lamping solution to narrow down the choices. LED is
the best choice for this unique location. LED offers a higher lumen output for a brighter fixture while operating on a lower
wattage which saves on energy for utility costs. LED is also a no heat solution which means the life of the fixture will be
protected from heat damage. Another benefit of LED is that the lamps last a long time to save on replacement costs and
maintenance spent on maintaining fixtures. Best of all, LED is available in the most commonly used gas station lighting
solutions.
Canopy Lights
When looking at gas station lighting, the most obvious area is the canopy. This is where the majority of the business
happens since customers pump gas under the canopy. It is also important to make sure this area is well-lit, so customers can
see it clearly from the road at night. A well-lit canopy also gives a feeling of safety and security when pumping gas at
night that most customers expect. In fact, most customer will pass up a poorly lit gas canopy in favor of a brighter one, so
this area directly impacts your business. This is where canopy lights come in and save the day! Canopy lights are made
specifically for this type of environment, so they offer such features as vandal proof options, wet rated listings, durable
polycarbonate lenses, and bright, powerful illumination where you need it most. Canopy lights come in choices of thin profile
to save on space and low profile for lower canopies in terms of height.
Parking Lot Lights
While the canopy lights are the main draw on the exterior, you will still need additional parking lot lighting. Parking
lot lighting is necessary for any surrounding parking spaces not covered by the canopy. They can also be used to add
visibility to roads leading to the parking lot or behind the building for added safety and security. When choosing parking
lot lights, you can go with either cobra head or floodlights. Floodlights are ideal if you have a larger lot whereas cobra
head is ideal for smaller lots.
Interior Lights
While the outside lighting is important, the inside is just as crucial to a successful lighting plan. For interior gas
station lighting, there are several great options to consider. A few of the most common are recessed troffer-style and
surface mounted fixtures. Both options offer an easy to install and maintain solution to meet the needs of this location. In
this type of location, you want to avoid suspended or chain fixtures since they can create more shadows and detract from the
clean, bright atmosphere your customers appreciate.