3 Things You Should Know About Industrial Lighting 

As a facility manager or building owner, you’re likely very busy. You don’t often have the time to assess the current state of your facility. You probably know your industrial lighting needs work, but getting started may be quite an ordeal. 

Regardless of the industry, adequate lighting is vital to your daily operations and can significantly impact your company’s success. However, there are so many different types of industrial lighting available, and that can make decision-making challenging.

This article will discuss the various types of industrial lighting available, the benefits of switching to industrial lighting, and the industrial lighting standards to ensure your facility is up-to-date on the latest requirements.

Continue reading below to learn everything you should know about industrial lighting and how Staco Electric can help you find the best industrial lighting solution for your needs.

The Most Common Types of Industrial Lighting

Industrial lighting is typically found in industrial settings like manufacturing plants and factories but is also suitable for various chemical plants and refineries. Industrial lighting is especially useful for detecting potentially hazardous materials or dangerous conditions and allows workers to perform their tasks with greater ease and less risk.

If you own or manage a factory, warehouse, or manufacturing facility, you undoubtedly want industrial lighting that is safe and reliable while also assisting your employees in their work. Understanding the various types of industrial lighting available can help you make the best decision for your team.

To assist you in your decision-making process, here are six of the most widely used industrial lighting solutions:

Full-Spectrum Lighting

Full-spectrum lighting is a common type of industrial lighting that mimics the appearance of natural lighting. This type of light is most commonly found in small offices and studios and is available in various bulb sizes.

Incandescent Lighting

Another common type of industrial lighting found in workplaces is incandescent lighting. Incandescent lights are traditional bulbs that heat a narrow metal filament inside the bulb with an electrical current. Incandescent lighting is a low-cost option and can be found in almost any work, usually as a supplemental or decorative light, and is optimal for indoor and outdoor use.

Halogen Lighting

Halogen lights have a lifespan of roughly 3,000 to 5,000 hours and can be used as reflective spotlights, floodlights, mini-can bulbs, and more.

Fluorescent Lighting

Fluorescent lights are one of the most durable and dependable types of industrial lighting. Fluorescent lights have a lifespan of 12,000 to 24,000 hours, provide an abundance of bright, cool light, and are also energy efficient, requiring only one-fifth the wattage of an incandescent bulb. 

High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting

As the name suggests, High-Intensity Discharge lights emit a powerful beam of light. HID lighting is a popular choice for outdoor lighting, general lighting, and landscape lighting. Keep in mind these lights take a few minutes to reach full brightness.

Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Lighting

LED lights are a popular type of efficient industrial lighting that offers a lot of light while emitting no toxic gases or chemicals. Because they use minimal energy and have a lifespan of roughly 100,000 hours, LED lights are also environmentally friendly and come in a variety of sizes and brightness levels.

OSHA Industrial Lighting Standards

While the first step in deciding on industrial lighting for your workspace is understanding your needs, it’s also critical that your facility follows various safety requirements. In collaboration with the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which oversees and regulates workplace safety standards, created minimum lighting standards for industrial environments to ensure workplace safety that all industrial workplaces must follow.

Lighting Recommendations

For industrial work settings, OSHA provides the following lighting recommendations:

• 100 to 200 lux: Required for spaces that are generally not used for visual tasks (like guest lobbies)
• 200 to 500 lux: Required for work areas used for large-scale visual tasks or when high contrast is required
• 500 to 1,000 lux: Required for workspaces used for small-scale visual tasks or when medium contrast is required
• 1,000 to 2,000 lux: Required for areas used for very small-scale visual tasks or when low contrast is required
• OSHA recommends no more than 500 lux for environments used mainly for computer tasks.

Furthermore, while the quantity of factory lights is important, OSHA also provides guidelines for light quality, specifically in terms of flicker and glare produced by the industrial lighting source. Because poor light quality can cause eye strain, headaches, and fatigue, efforts should be made to reduce flicker and glare. As a result, facility managers should regularly replace bulbs and ballasts, upgrade to non-flickering light sources, and correctly position light fixtures in relation to employee workspaces.

Ceiling Height

One of the most critical factors in determining what commercial light fixtures your building will require is the height of your facility’s ceiling. Most factories have higher ceilings than other types of buildings.

When measuring ceiling height, take the distance from the ceiling to the floor and from the ceiling to the work plane. You will need these measurements to forecast the building’s lumen expectancy accurately.

Fixture Selection

As we stated above it is critical that your building is lit properly. As a general rule, factories, workrooms, and offices need to be brightly lit, whereas museums, hotel lobbies, maintenance areas, and storage areas do not. 

Electricians measure illumination in “foot-candles” to ensure each space gets the proper amount of light. As a general rule, you need one foot-candle (10.76 lumens) for every square foot of space. However, the specific amount will vary due to other factors, such as the amount of accent and natural lighting the area will receive.

Here are some recommended foot-candle measurements for various spaces:

• 3 foot-candles: Waste areas, loading platforms, active storage areas, field maintenance areas, refueling areas, concrete placement/excavation sites
• 5 foot-candles: Underground workspaces, shafts and tunnels, general construction areas, warehouses, walkways, corridors, exits, and other indoor spaces
• 10 foot-candles: Construction plants

To achieve the recommended lumens per square foot, your lighting layout must include the correct type of factory light fixtures with the appropriate spacing between them.

Taller ceilings require more lumens to adequately light the space because the floor and workspace are further away from the light source. This entails installing more powerful fixtures and adjusting their spacing to achieve optimal lighting.

4 Benefits of Choosing High-Quality Industrial Lighting

Whether you’re a business owner or building manager, selecting appropriate lighting for your commercial or industrial facility is a must. Not only does selecting adequate lighting to ensure daily operations are running efficiently, but there are also several other benefits that optimal industrial lighting provides.

Here are three advantages that industrial lighting can provide your business:

Reduced Maintenance Cost

Many facility managers wait for a few lights to go out before replacing the bulbs to save money on maintenance, but this can cause your production floor to become darker. Instead of jeopardizing your employees’ safety and effectiveness to save money on maintenance, switching to an energy-efficient industrial can drastically reduce the frequency with which your lighting will need to be changed.

Increased Productivity

Industrial lighting has the potential to improve productivity and accuracy while also potentially speeding up assembly operations. The sophisticated lensing system used in various industrial lighting solutions ensures that the light is directed precisely where it needs to be and not wasted pointing at the ceiling or spreading too thinly across your surfaces.

Improved Safety

Lastly, upgrading your industrial lighting also increases the safety of your facility. Accidents can occur if an employee cannot see a hazard clearly. With improved lighting, potential hazards become visible, reducing the risk of accidents in the workplace.

Contact Staco Electric to Learn More About Our Industrial Electrical Services

If you’re considering an industrial lighting upgrade, learning about the benefits and applications of various lighting solutions will assist you in selecting the best lighting application for your needs. While different types of industrial lighting available can make choosing the proper lighting solution difficult, there are several great lighting options for any industrial workplace.

Staco Electric is committed to providing our customers with the most dependable industrial electrical services. Our highly trained and experienced staff can install and maintain your electrical systems. This will help reduce unscheduled shutdowns and equipment failure in your commercial or industrial building and ensure you receive the most cost-effective solution on the market, tailored to your specific needs.

Are you upgrading your industrial worksite? Contact Staco Electric today to speak with one of our specialists about how we can help you select the best industrial lighting solution for your company’s needs.