How does this term apply to the industrial world?

Factories, warehouses, and offices spaces all require interior lighting design. All three environments should have their commercial grade lighting systems planned prior to the purchase of any equipment. Sometimes this is for energy savings only, but in other area, interior lighting design is a key component to worker efficiency and is essential to maintaining a safe work environment.

Why would an industrial firm need to think about office lighting?

Virtually every facility, no matter how devoted to manufacturing or distribution it may be, has office space of some type. Management and administration requires this separate space to oversee production and to make mission critical decisions about the company.

Is interior lighting design different in the office of a factory or a warehouse than it is in say, a financial firm or marketing company?

Not really. Interior commercial lighting design in these offices follows the same principles as it does in service-oriented companies in the general corporate world at large. Administrative workers need comfortable task lighting over their desks and cubes. Foyers need a certain amount of ambient lighting to look professional to visitors and clients.

Is there a way to do this cheaply? We don’t have that many offices in our facility.

Break areas and bathrooms can be lit with general commercial fluorescent lights that can be turned on and off at will. Meeting rooms and executive office suites can be configured with lighting controls that can save electricity by dimming the lights and also generate different emotional states for different kinds of meetings by using different combinations of lights.

Why should factories spend extra money on interior lighting design when all they do is manufacture products

They need it because the success of manufacturing depends on precision, time-to-market, and safe working conditions. All three of these things are directly influenced by the quality of light in the building. Without adequate industrial task lighting, assembly line workers cannot see and consequently work at a noticeably slower pace. Morale tends to be rather negative too when people spend long hours at a time in dark areas.

Why do you say lighting is important to safety?

Many times accidents happen around machines that could have been avoided if the lighting had been higher in the area. They can also occur when the lights are improperly mounted and too much light hits the workers’ eyes and partially blinds them. This is why you need a photometric lighting plan that will show exactly how many fixtures company needs, where they need to go, and how they need to be mounted in order to minimize reflective glare and dispel shadows in dangerous and mission-critical labor areas.

What will an industrial interior lighting plan do for my warehouse that general high bay lighting doesn’t already do?

General high bay and low bay lights are standard in almost every warehouse lighting design, so by no means do we suggest you abandon this. Consider, however, how much you spend on maintaining these lights and how much it costs to power them each month. It is quite possible that you will discover that newer, more energy efficient lights engineered with longer lamp life could save money on both power and maintenance cycles.

Isn’t that going to be expensive when it comes to purchase costs?

Not as much as you may think. Only busy work and transit areas need special interior lighting design in order to do special functions and safeguard human life. Many storage areas, untraveled areas, and hallways can be lit with cheaper fixtures and far less electricity without jeopardizing health or corporate revenues.

If you have any questions about any of the lighting products we offer, do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-239-2939. We are happy to answer any questions you may have, and help you choose the right products for your application. At Residential Landscape Lighting & Design, we have access to a full range of commercial lighting options suited to the many needs and concerns facing business owners today. Check out our lighting glossary.

Our commercial lighting design and home lighting design center is located in Houston with distribution centers positioned throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Miami, FL. Chicago, IL. Denver CO., El Paso, Texas, Dallas TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, Boise ID, Atlanta GA, Albuquerque NM, Raleigh-Durham NC, Washington DC, Albuquerque NM, Huntsville AL, Fayetteville AR, Norfolk VA , Madison WI., Corpus Christi, TX, Plano, Texas, Garland, TX, Laredo, Texas, Lubbock, Texas.

In office and call center environments, and in areas such as lobbies and break rooms, HID lights and fluorescent lights are the most common types of fixtures used in interior industrial lighting systems. Indoor lighting products like these can only be used indoors because they are made to function only in humidity free environments. In moist air or heavy rain, they will not last for long.

Outdoor light fixtures are far more tenacious. They are wet location rated, which means, that they have been designed to weather high humidity, rainfall, and even thunderstorms in places.

The sheer number of fixture options available to businesses is clearly indicates just how much a business needs the assistance of a lighting designer who can plan and configure their industrial lighting system. Such an expert knows just what type of equipment is needed, and where it needs to be mounted.

All commercial enterprises, regardless of whether or not they are technically categorized as “industrial” per se, need industrial commercial lighting systems. Retailer centers, office parks, distribution and storage operations, and manufacturing plants all need both interior and exterior lighting products. Corporate headquarters especially require the very best systems to reflect their brand and corporate culture.

The design of industrial light systems occurs through a series of specific steps. The first step is assessing the types of tasks that will be performed in a given area and how much light those particular tasks will require.

The nature of a fluorescent task lighting is very important. Office work, for instance, requires general lighting. Hallways require some light, but only enough for safety—not high visibility. Assembly lines and machine work require the brightest light for maximum visibility, safety, and productivity.

Determining the right lighting levels is done by taking both general and specific factors into account. General factors are based on general design guidelines that fall within IES codes. Specific parameters are based on the environment and task at hand.

Every client should send us both a plan view and an elevation view of their facility in AutoCAD format. The lighting designer can then input this data into the design software that in generates a photometric layout and 3D rendering of the new system.

This will result in an industrial lighting design that addresses the needs of the building in terms of size and the industry in terms of operations process flow. It will also ensure that different areas within and around the building will get just the right amounts of light they need for optimal safety and productivity.

At Residential Landscape Lighting & Design, we have access to a full range of commercial lighting options suited to the many needs and concerns facing business owners today. If you still have questions about what to choose for your race commercial lighting project, ask an expert or give us a call toll free at 1-800-239-2939 and we will try to find an answer to your question.

Our architectural commercial & industrial lighting design office is located in Houston, Texas with warehouses located throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Miami, FL. Chicago, IL. Denver CO., El Paso, Texas, Dallas TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, Boise ID, Atlanta GA, Albuquerque NM, Raleigh-Durham NC, Washington DC, Albuquerque NM, Huntsville AL, Fayetteville AR, Norfolk VA , Madison WI., Corpus Christi, TX, Plano, Texas, Garland, TX, Laredo, Texas, Lubbock, TX.

Why should factories or warehouses need to think about industrial office lighting?
You still need to consider these industrial fixtures because even factories and warehouses have some kind of office space the building. Management and staff need optimal lighting for comfort and productivity in these areas. If you work in a traditional office environment, every employee in the workplace needs optimal lighting for maximum productivity.

We are on a limited budget and are hesitant about overspending.
Investing a little more in commercial-grade, premium industrial fluorescent office lighting fixtures will save you money in the long run. Also, getting a photometric plan that details exactly how many fixtures you need and where you need to have them mounted ensures maximum light output for the lowest number of physical fixtures.

Better fixtures use less power and last longer, reducing electric bills and maintenance costs in the long run.

Why not just keep my existing fixtures for the time being? They still work.

It’s not about your lights working, it’s about your employees working. Eye strain and fatigue have both been linked to poor lighting conditions. Older generations of indoor fluorescent lights had poor power management due to older magnetic ballasts.

Also, these lamps contained bulbs that operated on a mixture of gases and metals that made everything look yellowish under their light. This was the primary cause of eye strain, depression, and a fatigue that resulted, and many businesses that are operating industrial parabolic office lighting fixtures that are more than 10 years in age still have these negatives present in the work environment on a daily basis.

If we do install new industrial office lighting, what should we look for?

Make sure they offer quick access to bulbs and ballasts so maintenance is easy and cheap. Spend a little extra money on the most energy efficient lamps. They will help you save money on operating costs by using less electricity, and their longer lamp life will mean fewer bulb replacements and correspondingly lower maintenance costs. Make sure you get lights with electronic ballasts.

Many ceiling-mounted industrial office lighting fixtures still use traditional tube shaped fluorescent lights. You can also buy wall-mounted lights that render color much better than their predecessors ever did. These fixtures do not produce that yellowish discoloration of skin and clothing. With yellow light no longer present, eyestrain is gone as well.

What if we simply cannot get rid of our old fixtures and replace them all at this time?
You can use traditional lights that require screw-in incandescent bulbs retrofitted with fluorescent lamp replacements. We have these lights in our product inventory, and they can be very effective in reducing energy costs. Talk to a specialist here about the best choices to make for this application.

Energy conservation is the most important thing to think about when you are choosing your industrial office lighting. You need the help of an expert who can locate brightest of lights for the least amount of energy used.

Call Residential Landscape Lighting & Design today to get started with this process.
If you have any questions about any of the commercial lighting products we offer, do not hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-239-2939. We are happy to answer any questions you may have, and help you choose the right products for your application. At Residential Landscape Lighting & Design, we have access to a full range of commercial lighting options suited to the many needs and concerns facing business owners today.

Are you looking for other commercial, industrial, athletic lighting products or commercial building materials?  Did you know that RLLD carries the following?

Landscape & Outdoor Lighting Products
Indoor & Home Lighting Fixtures
Commercial & Industrial Lighting Products
Sports Field Lighting & Tennis Court Lights
Home Automation & Lighting Controls
Security Lights & Safety Lighting Items
Vent Fans & Bathroom Heaters

Our  office is located in Downtown Houston with stocking distributors positioned throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Miami, FL. Chicago, IL. Denver CO., El Paso, Texas, Dallas TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, Boise ID, Atlanta GA, Albuquerque NM, Raleigh-Durham NC, Washington DC, Albuquerque NM, Huntsville AL, Fayetteville AR, Norfolk VA , Madison WI., Corpus Christi, TX, Plano, Texas, Garland, TX, Laredo, Texas, Lubbock, Texas.