The vast majority of existing warehouse space in the US is lit with inefficient high intensity discharge or magnetically ballasted T12 fluorescent light fixtures. Unfortunately, lighting is one of the few areas that is often overlooked when investigating cost reduction opportunities. Owners and managers blindly budget tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for utility bills without realizing that switching to more energy efficient warehouse lighting can provide a tremendous opportunity to reduce energy demand and therefore cut utility costs. Many believe that the only option to lowering the electric bill is to shut off all the lights in the facility which results in an unsafe work environment. We have had major advances in lighting technology that allow for warehouses lighting systems to be optimized for bulk storage and rack aisle applications.
This application guide outlines warehouse lighting requirements and best practices and gives practical examples you can use as a basis for your warehouse lighting retrofit project. As with our gymnasium lighting application guide, we will use examples to illustrate these guidelines that are based on typical warehouse layouts. If you have any questions or need any clarifications, don’t hesitate to contact us.
We’re often asked how 4-lamp and 6-lamp T5HO High Bays fare when compared with traditional 400W Metal Halide fixtures. The chart below compares 4-lamp and 6-lamp T5 fixtures against a traditional 400W Metal Halide High Bay along a number of dimensions. The comparison dimensions are listed below with a short description of each.
T5 and T5HO fluorescent high bay fixtures and other T5-based specialty lights are built around a linear fluorescent tube lamp. Like other types of lamps, the number in the name of the lamp reflects its size. The “T5” name reflects the diameter of the tube in eighths of an inch. A T5 lamp is five-eighths of an inch (5/8”). Similarly, a T8 lamp is eight-eighths (or one inch) in diameter and a T12 is 12 eighths (or 1-1/2 inches) in diameter. One of the features that make a T5 bulb and T5-based high bay light fixtures more efficient is the fact that the lamp is 37% narrower tube than a T8 and over 55% narrower than a T12 lamp.
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