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Commercial Lighting
Commercial lighting plays an important role in your office, retail shop, or any other commercial space. Since business tasks are often completed there, proper light is necessary to safely and efficiently perform them. Below, we’ll discuss commercial LED lighting and how to incorporate it.
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Why Lighting Matters in a Commercial Space
Lighting in a commercial environment is incredibly important. From potentially influencing sales to improving on the customer experience, commercial lighting should not be overlooked.
Commercial building lighting can help define the flow and functionality of the space, influencing how a person moves through it. Focused illumination draws attention to functional spaces like workstations and checkout counters, for example. Accent lighting can draw the eye to architectural features and certain product displays, for another.
It can also influence the customer’s perception of your establishment. It can be used strategically to communicate the brand personality and give off certain vibes. For example, warm toned commercial ceiling lights can give feelings of warmth and invitation, while cooler lights give off a more energetic and vibrant feeling.
In essence, it can dictate how a customer interacts and feels about your space, meaning it shouldn’t be overlooked.
Applications for Commercial LED Lighting
Commercial LED lighting is versatile and varied and can be used in a number of different applications. Some of the most popular use cases of LED lights for commercial buildings are as follows.
Offices and Corporate Buildings
Commercial office lighting can directly impact the wellbeing and productivity of your employees. Task lighting on desks and commercial recessed lighting overhead providing the ambient layer can give employees plenty of light to see by. It is recommended that lights are a neutral white colour temperature around 4000K to give better clarity and focus.
Retail Stores and Showrooms
Retail lighting has to not only make the shop more visible, but it must also encourage sales. Use accent lighting like track lights or spotlights to highlight certain displays and products. Ambient lighting in warm tones can provide a more welcoming environment.
Hospitality and Restaurants
Promoting a warm and welcoming environment is key in hospitality. Choose warm commercial wall sconces to provide plenty of indirect lighting, especially around restaurant tables. Reception areas work well with statement pendants or even recessed ceiling lighting overhead.
Warehouses and Industrial Buildings
Ensure that employees can clearly see in these often hazard-dense environments with ample commercial electric lighting. Hang powerful LED bay lighting overhead on warehouse floors, with task lighting zones for machinery, inspection areas and packing stations.
Advice on Planning a Commercial Lighting Scheme
When planning the placement of your commercial lighting fixtures, there are a few things you should consider.
Purpose and Placement
Figure out what you need each light to accomplish. Do you need task lighting over workstations, or welcoming lighting in customer-facing areas? Are you looking to light the interior space, or do you need large commercial outdoor lighting on the property?
Colour Temperature
Colour temperature is a way to measure the warmth or coolness of a light. It sits on a spectrum between 1,000 and 10,000 Kelvin with warmer lights toward the bottom. Choose warm colour temperatures for hospitality environments, and cooler lights for warehouses and offices.
Brightness Levels
Sketch out a little plan to see where your lighting needs to be to shine appropriate levels of light throughout. Knowing the lumen counts of the fixtures you intend to use can help you figure out how many lights you will need and where they should be placed.
Safety and Compliance
Be sure you are choosing and installing lights that comply with local code. You will want to get fire-rated lighting, as well as lighting that is IP rated appropriately for whatever level of moisture it will be exposed to. This is especially important in commercial exterior light fixtures since they are constantly exposed to weather.
How to Integrate Smart Lighting Controls into a Commercial Lighting Design Scheme
Smart lighting is one of the best choices you can make when it comes to commercial lighting. Incorporating it is simple once you know what you’re doing.
Begin by zoning out where you want your lights to be placed. Divide the space up into different functional areas and figure out what kind of light you need for each one. From there, you can seek out the smart lights that work best.
Choose the right LED fixtures, those of which need to have smart-ready fittings and dimmable drivers. Make sure they are compatible with certain smart lighting elements such as motion sensors and central control hubs.
In commercial spaces, having motion or occupancy sensing lights is a great idea. This way, you won’t have the lights running for an unnecessarily long period of time when no one is in the room.
Similarly, you can choose to have your lights set on a timer or schedule so that they are only running during certain times of day. Turning on lights only when you need them is an energy efficient choice and can save you money on your electric bill.
Advice on the Best Colour Temperature to Use for a Commercial Lighting Installation
As mentioned, colour temperature is the way the perceived warmth or coolness of a light is indicated. Colour temperatures vary from warm to cool on a spectrum of 1,000K to 10,000K, and each colour temperature range has its place.
Colour temperature can influence the mood and atmosphere of a place, as well promote mental energy and focus. For example, cooler tones are better for focus and mental clarity, while warmer lights are more inviting and gentle on the eyes.
Choose cool and neutral lighting for warehouses and office areas, including its commercial outdoor wall lighting fixtures. The interior of showrooms should also use cool, bright lighting to best show off the cars, electronics and other high-value items typically found in showrooms.
For restaurants, hotels and bars, warmer lighting is preferred. Warm lighting is also good in locations like clothing boutiques to give it a luxurious atmosphere.
Tips on Lighting an Outdoor Space
When you are thinking about how to incorporate exterior commercial building lighting or even commercial landscape lighting, follow the tips below.
- SAFETY FIRST. With commercial outdoor lighting fixtures, there are a few considerations you must take that aren’t as important when using commercial LED lights indoor fixtures. You need to ensure that you are using IP65 rated lights or higher to eliminate the risk of damages from weather. For ground lights, make sure they are drive-over rated as well.
- ILLUMINATE ENTRANCES AND PATHS. Having commercial pathway lights leading up to entryways or through garden paths help make it easier to navigate. Think commercial exterior wall sconce fixtures, bollard lights and other such lights.
- HIGHLIGHT THE LANDSCAPE. Using commercial exterior lighting like spike lights and uplighters to enhance the appearance of garden features and architecture.
- LAYER THE LIGHTS. Be sure that your lights are layered in ambient, accent and task layers for best results. Commercial electric recessed lighting for the ambient layer and wall washers for accent lighting are a good choice. Spotlights and pendant lights make for good task lighting.
Why LEDs Are the Best Choice for a Commercial Lighting Installation
Whether you are looking for commercial outdoor lighting for a landscape or interior lighting, LED bulbs are the way to go. LEDs are energy efficient, using up to 80 percent less energy than their traditional counterparts. This is especially important for commercial spaces that always have lights on and in great quantities.
LED commercial lights indoor fixtures last much longer than halogen bulbs as well. LEDs can outlast tens of thousands of hours of use without burning out, compared to the 1,000 hours of halogen bulbs.
The longer life of commercial LED lighting fixtures can save you money in the long run and in the short term. Energy efficient lights will draw less electricity, which can translate to a reduction of your energy bills. The longer life means you won’t have to replace them as often, either, so you will save on upfront costs.
Due to the versatility of LED lights, you will have many options in terms of colour temperature and brightnesses for you to work with. This makes LED lighting perfect for any commercial space since you can customize it all.
How Good Lighting Has a Positive Effect on Employees
Lighting is a critical aspect of office spaces, but the benefits extend beyond simple visibility. When you have quality commercial electric LED lights in your office building, you may notice a positive impact on your employees.
Good lighting is shown to help keep a regular circadian rhythm, which promotes better sleep. Better sleep may help employees focus better at work.
Furthermore, bright, neutral LED lighting is said to help promote focus and concentration. Better focus translates to more productivity at work, while the flicker-free illumination of LED lighting reduces eye strain and fatigue.
Common Mistakes When Installing Commercial Light Fittings
When installing modern commercial lighting, there are a few mistakes that many homeowners make. Avoid them by getting familiar with those mistakes below.
- FORGETTING IP RATINGS. By not choosing proper waterproof lighting, you risk water getting into your light fixtures and ruining them. Ensure you choose IP65 rated commercial wall lights and ground lights to avoid this.
- POOR PLACEMENT. Where you position the lights matters. Oftentimes, people will space them unevenly, which leads to glares and dark spots. Mounting fixtures too high or too low can also pose issues. Be sure to use a balanced lighting layout to avoid all of this.
- IMPROPER CRI AND COLOUR TEMPERATURE. Warm and cool colour temperatures both have their places they belong and places they don’t. Common colour temperature mistakes include using cool white light in hospitality settings, low CRI ratings in retail shops, and mixing colour temperatures to the point of abrasive visual clashing.
Why Is CRI Important?
CRI, or colour rendering index, is a way to understand the clarity of a given light. Higher CRI ratings indicate a light that more accurately depicts the colours of whatever it is shining on.
In retail environments, CRI rated lights of 80 and above are thought to be rather crucial. If you want your lights to show colours of clothing and jewellery accurately to reduce the number of returns, then high CRI is a must.
In hospitality settings, good CRI ratings can positively affect how the materials and textures in the room look. High CRI will enhance the warmth and visuals of woods, architectural details and texture, creating a visually cohesive environment.
Good CRI is also critical in healthcare environments. Crystal clear lighting is necessary for medical professionals to assess patients and make diagnoses. In educational settings, it can promote focus and productivity, providing a better learning environment for your students.