subject: Industrial Lighting Systems Can Make Your Business Safe And Efficient [print this page] An industrial lighting system is basically a group of lighting equipment and controls that work as one to perform a specific function.
In factory and warehouse environments, high bay lights provide general overhead lighting. Exit lights in buildings show where doors are located.
Assembly lines are illuminated by task lights with higher visibility and minimal glare. Emergency lighting is needed over doorways in case of power outages.
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 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 task 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 system 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.
