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Commercial Lighting

Questions and views on business, industrial and commercial oriented lighting

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What is the best type of light to use in a restaurant?

Last post by Mary, 7 years ago

Posts: 11

Views: 1376

I am about to open a restaurant and would appreciate some ideas on lighting

By brown_sie... 7 years ago
Always use warm white (circa 3000K) globes and lights.

By jack_wood 7 years ago
I would recommend to use designer pendant lights for restaurants, particularly industrial style lights. They cost more but they are a fantastic investment.

By grey_chri... 7 years ago
Ambience is absolutely critical for all restaurants. If you don't have them, your customers will not enter and if they do, they will not return. Industrial style pendant lights are very in. So are fairy lights.

By valentina... 7 years ago
A study I once read that surveyed 2000 people found that 30% of them will walk out of a restaurant if the lighting is bad - that should tell you how critical it is.

By Charlotte 7 years ago
Restaurant light should be intimate and in layers, to maximize the ambience. Also use picture lights to highlight paintings on the wall and other interesting things.

By Chen 7 years ago
Most restaurants have light that is too dim for customers to read the menus, which is extremely irritating. I was recently at a restaurant that had a thin flexible torch attached to all its menus that made it easy to read without disturbing other patrons. I thought it was brilliant!

By Mike 7 years ago
Make sure that the light you use - whether ceiling lights, pendant lights or table lamps - do not create glare into people's eyes. It is a very easy mistake to do and very hard to fix.

By Maria 7 years ago
If the restaurant is open all day then you will need dimmable lights, because the light should be progressively dimmed as the day gets longer. Also, get lights with very good colour rendering index (CRI) otherwise the food colour will look off.

By Daniel 7 years ago
Make sure you don't mix and match too much. For example use only one or maybe two types of pendant lights - don't use multiple types, that creates a very crowded appearance that is not appealing.

By Mary 7 years ago
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Tips required on High bay lights

Last post by harriet_paul, 7 years ago

Posts: 7

Views: 984

Anyone have any tips on high bay LED lights for factories and warehouses?

By Martha 7 years ago
BIG tip: always, always, always use LED high bays. Never use anything else. They are cheaper, use less power but most importantly they last vastly longer.

By Hanry 7 years ago
High bay lights can use huge amount of power, so switch to LED high bays. Also make sure you buy a few spares. Even ones with 100,000 hours lifespan will eventually go and all likes can discontinued so this will save you having odd lights.

By david_gre... 7 years ago
A common mistake is to install high-bays in such a way to get shadow pools between them. That is very suboptimal to your workers.

By martin_wh... 7 years ago
LED high bays take up to 80% less energy, and last up to 10 times longer, than conventional high bays. Also, you might want to consider high bays connected to sensors but be careful they don't turn off while work is being done (so the on time has to be very long).

By smith_eli... 7 years ago
The other thing is that LED high bays do not produce much heat so a lot less air conditioning is required.

By wright_he... 7 years ago
LED high bays these days are incredible engineering machines! You can even get IP rated high bays that can be installed outside.

By harriet_p... 7 years ago

What are the advantages of LED lights in factories?

Last post by Charles, 7 years ago

Posts: 5

Views: 1009

Are there any advantages to using LED lights in factories over conventional lights?

By Maria 7 years ago
Lighting can be up to 75% of a factories electricity usage, and because the lighting needs to be very powerful, the cost can be massive. LED will save up to 80% of the cost! Also, they will last much longer.

By Daniel 7 years ago
Some benefits: - Massively cheaper to run - Last longer - Produce very little heat - No flicker - Immediate start - Eco friendly

By David 7 years ago
Some LED factory lights have a 100,000 hour lifespan which is 11.4 YEARS of continuous use. Other types of lights will die a long, long time before that.

By John 7 years ago
LED factory lights are fantastic but make sure that you have proper lighting design done.

By Charles 7 years ago

Best type of lighting for hotels

Last post by bing_martina, 7 years ago

Posts: 10

Views: 1151

What is the best type of lighting for hotels?

By smith_eli... 7 years ago
Lighting can make or break a hotel - if it is not done well, customers will feel ill at ease and will not enter or return to it.

By wright_he... 7 years ago
I would recommend dimmable warm white gimbles. The dimmable function can ensure that the brightness level can be adjusted throughout the day such as in the dining room, where it should be darker at night.

By thomas_is... 7 years ago
Always make sure that the light you get for your hotel have a long lifespan - at least 50,000 hours. Maintenance is too expensive to replace them.

By evans_ros... 7 years ago
Many studies have shown that hotel guests actually included lighting in their reviews, specifically about lighting in their rooms, so it is absolutely 100% critical to get right.

By john_marg... 7 years ago
Concentrate on two things most of all: - Lighting in the hotel foyer - that is first impression and need to be grand mansion lighting - Lighting in the hotel rooms - that is where the guests will spend most of their time so must be perfect

By harriet_p... 7 years ago
In hotel rooms, make sure that the lights switches are completely and utterly intuitive. Guests do not want to spend 10 minutes every time they want to change the light.

By ruby_walk... 7 years ago
All lights get discontinued so buy plenty of spares when you fit out a hotel. Otherwise it can get very ugly.

By parkar_da... 7 years ago
Lamps are now an essential item for hotels - both desk lamps and bedside lamps. They should have a stylish design.

By russell_n... 7 years ago
Also I would add floor lamps.

By bing_mart... 7 years ago

Should I change my office lights to LEDs?

Last post by jones_ethan, 7 years ago

Posts: 6

Views: 1035

I am wondering if I should change my office lights to LED lights?

By ruby_walk... 7 years ago
Absolutely! LED lights are extremely energy efficient - up to 80%. Then they are eco friendly as well.

By jack_wood 7 years ago
Studies have shown that moving from fluorescent lights to LED lights has improved efficiency and productivity, because LED lights don't flicker, don't yellow etc.

By parkar_da... 7 years ago
In offices there is always one damn light somewhere that is flickering! That will not happen with LED lights.

By evans_eva 7 years ago
LED lights are very long lasting so you no longer have to regularly change light globes or tubes.

By russell_n... 7 years ago
Advantages of LED lights: - Energy saving - Longer lasting - No flicker - Eco friendly - Immediate startup - Good rendering

By jones_eth... 7 years ago

Is solar lighting suitable for commercial areas?

Last post by evans_rose, 7 years ago

Posts: 4

Views: 978

I have always considered solar lights unsuitable for commercial use - is that a valid assumption?

By Samuel 7 years ago
That used to be true, but no longer so. There are a lot of commercial grade solar lights these days that are: - Very long lasting (5+ years) - Energy efficient (they can illuminate for up to 7 days even when it is cloudy) - Extremely bright (even for billboards)

By Hanry 7 years ago
I have seen a lot of commercial grade solar lights being used by businesses very successfully, so I would say go for it - just make sure they are commercial grade not cheap junk.

By martin_wh... 7 years ago
Solar lights are definitely used by a lot of businesses these days, due to the fact that the quality of these lights has gone up so much. This is particularly so in areas where it is difficult or impossible to get get wiring.

By evans_ros... 7 years ago

Using LED lights in hospitals

Last post by Chris Jones, 8 years ago

Posts: 5

Views: 824

Would appreciate any tips on using LED Lights in hospitals.

By Samuel 8 years ago
Two massive advantages of LED lights over conventional lights: - Consume much less power - Will last much longer

By Martha 8 years ago
Maintenance cost on replacing lights in hospitals is enormous, so this will save you a lot of money long term.

By Hanry 8 years ago
LED lights can save more than 50% on a hospital's electricity bill.

By parkar_da... 8 years ago
One of the most beneficial things about hospital lighting is extremely high CRI led panels - CRI is colour rendering index, which measures how well colours are reproduced. High CRI lights are critical for surgeons.

By Chris Jon... 8 years ago

Problems with commercial LED lights

Last post by thomas_isaac, 8 years ago

Posts: 9

Views: 1118

What are the biggest problems in commercial LED lights and how can they be overcome?

By Nancy 8 years ago
The biggest problem I think is having bad connections to the drivers - LED lights need constant current / voltage, and bad connections will ensure they fail much faster than their rated lifespan.

By Samuel 8 years ago
I think by far the worst problem - and an extremely annoying and expensive one - is that LED lights are far less reliable than manufacturers' claims. The claim, of course, can be anything you like and cannot be verified. This is particularly true when you get a bad batch. When lights start to fail, getting replacement can be very tricky - businesses will happily sell them, but will not happily replace failed lights and make you jump through hoops.

By Martha 8 years ago
The weak point about commercial LED lights is the drivers - they are very critical to the lifespan of the light, but often they are manufactured poorly.

By Hanry 8 years ago
Actually the real problem is not manufacturing but consumers. Everyone wants the cheapest product, yet everyone knows that you get what you pay for! So consumers buy the cheapest product, then complain that it is not premium grade. People remember please: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

By david_gre... 8 years ago
The worst thing I have encountered is unscrupulous competitors. Manufacturers will spend huge amount of money in design, R&D, testing, refining etc. But then a competitor will reverse engineer the product at almost no cost, and undercut the price, and on top of that their product will be junk. This creates a perception that the entire LED lighting industry produces garbage lights, and also decimates the companies that have put in the $ to create high end product.

By simon_jac... 8 years ago
Dimmers are also a problem. They are often very low quality so the customer thinks it is the light.

By martin_wh... 8 years ago
The biggest problems with LED lighting: - Low quality spectrum - High failure rate - Over-competition causing reduction in prices and hence quality

By wright_he... 8 years ago
I think the biggest problem is that a lot of manufacturers from China (not all of them) create low quality commercial LED lights at insanely low prices. This drives out the good players, and brings everyone else down to also sell low quality cheap junk.

By thomas_is... 8 years ago

Using smart lights for commercial lighting

Last post by daniel ball, 8 years ago

Posts: 8

Views: 933

Can smart lights be used for commercial lighting?

By jones_eth... 8 years ago
Smart lights are often used in commercial applications to reduce energy consumption. They are also great for safety.

By bing_mart... 8 years ago
A retail shop I outfitted had customer sensing technology, which was great.

By russell_n... 8 years ago
Smart lights can be connected to timers, dimmers and brighteners, etc - so it is extremely well adapted for commercial environments.

By evans_eva 8 years ago
an excellent use of commercial smart lights is through day-night sensors, which can massively reduce energy costs.

By parkar_da... 8 years ago
A state of the art commercial lighting network will contain dimmers, occupancy sensors and photosensors.

By brown_sie... 8 years ago
A good commercial smart lighting system can save over 80% of power costs when everything is utilized.

By harriet_p... 8 years ago
Smart lights are great but basically even if you only use the scheduling function, it will save huge amounts on energy. This can be adjusted as the sun sets later in the year.

By daniel ba... 8 years ago

How can I determine which LED light are high quality for my hotel project?

Last post by Maria, 8 years ago

Posts: 2

Views: 978

I have just received a lucrative hotel project with a mandate that the LED lights must be "high quality". How can I determine what is high quality?

By Mike 8 years ago
Generally high quality means: - From a trusted brand - Made from good materials such (for example 316 stainless steel compared to 304) - Long lifespan (50,000 hours and over) - Long warranty (they wouldn't give long warranty if they weren't sure of the product, right?)

By Maria 8 years ago

Differences between commercial lights and residential lights

Last post by thomas_isaac, 8 years ago

Posts: 6

Views: 1137

What are the differences between commercial lights and residential lights?

By Nancy 8 years ago
Mostly, commercial lights are too bright to use in residential areas - they are heavy duty lights.

By Martin 8 years ago
Commercial lights are: - Very bright - Consume more energy - Often vandal proof - Long lasting (50,000 hours or more)

By Samuel 8 years ago
Commercial lights are made with specific needs in mind that would not suit residential areas. For example downlights are made for living rooms, bedrooms etc whereas commercial downlights (called shop lights) are much brighter and are used for retail shops.

By Hanry 8 years ago
Some commercial lights are simply brighter versions of their residential cousins (such as commercial flood lights vs normal flood lights). Other commercial lights, such as high bays and LED panel lights, would never be used in a residential setting.

By simon_jac... 8 years ago
Commercial lights do not necessarily have to be ultra bright but they are very long lasting.

By thomas_is... 8 years ago

Different types of commercial lights

Last post by grey_christian, 8 years ago

Posts: 2

Views: 802

What are different types of commercial lights, and advantages and disadvantages?

By Charlotte 8 years ago
Very hard question to answer. Commercial lights fall into two groups more or less: Group one are normal residential lights that are 'battle hardened' ie made industrial strength - brighter, vandal proof, longer lifespan etc. Any light you can think of has its commercial equivalent. For example: downlights and shop light, small flood light and industrial flood light. The second group consists of lights that are purely for industrial applications - high bay lights, stadium lights, LED panel lights etc. There are too many of both groups to count.

By grey_chri... 8 years ago

Best lighting to use in trade shows?

Last post by simon_jacob, 8 years ago

Posts: 5

Views: 887

I am looking to go to a trade show, and wonder if people can suggest any ideas for lighting?

By Mary 8 years ago
I would recommend coloured and/or flashing lighting if you want to get attention - but this might cheapen you stand, so be careful.

By James 8 years ago
Yes, agree, coloured lights definitely get attention but do not look 100% professional.

By Nancy 8 years ago
I have used high grade spotlights inside my stand. Looks very professional and can focus attention very well.

By Hanry 8 years ago
Coloured lights are great with younger people.

By simon_jac... 8 years ago

Suggestions requested for restaurants lights

Last post by harriet_paul, 8 years ago

Posts: 14

Views: 1007

I am fitting out an expensive restaurant with new lighting - suggestions most welcome 😀 😀 😀

By Cynthia 8 years ago
Most high-end restaurants I have gone into in the last year or so have had designer industrial-style pendant lights, which is great for creating little islands of intimacy from tables.

By Martha 8 years ago
If it is a really high end restaurant, you might want to hang a grand chandelier in the middle of the room.

By Hanry 8 years ago
Ceiling fans are a great addition for restaurants, particularly for outdoor patios with ceilings.

By david_gre... 8 years ago
Wall sconces - particularly unusual and ornate ones - create a really fine touch for restaurants.

By simon_jac... 8 years ago
I love track lights and spotlights in restaurants.

By martin_wh... 8 years ago
I would 100% keep away from oyster lights - I recently went to a restaurant that had them and it was terrible!

By smith_eli... 8 years ago
If you have a bar, then a row of warm white downlights above the bar looks fantastic.

By thomas_is... 8 years ago
Avoid pendant lights that do not have shades - they can cause glare and be very irritating to patrons.

By evans_ros... 8 years ago
If any of the food is on display then ensure you use lights and/or globes with a high CRI to ensure the colour is faithfully reproduced.

By harriet_p... 8 years ago
view all posts

What is the best colour temperature for lights in commercial spaces?

Last post by valentina_turner, 8 years ago

Posts: 6

Views: 927

I am about to put in lights in a number of commercial spaces, and wonder if there is an optimal colour temperature?

By david_gre... 8 years ago
Definitely keep away from warm white (2500-3200K) range. If the commercial light is going into an office then go for cool white colour temperature (3200-4000K). If it goes into an industrial or hospital space then use daylight white (4000-5000K).

By harriet_p... 8 years ago
Either cool white or daylight white should be fine.

By ruby_walk... 8 years ago
Studies have shown that cool white and daylight white create alertness, whereas warm white creates a relaxed environment ... so you definitely want to go for either cool white or daylight white.

By russell_n... 8 years ago
Retail stores most often go for cool white which is about 2700K to 4000K colour temperature. Daylight white has a blue tinge to it which can be a little off-putting.

By bing_mart... 8 years ago
Parking garages, outdoor sites and sporting stadiums generally use daylight white which is about 4000K to 5000K.

By valentina... 8 years ago

Lighting for shooting a very low budget indoor movie

Last post by Chen, 8 years ago

Posts: 5

Views: 906

Hi. I am shooting a very low budget indoor movie but the lighting is very dark. I wonder if anyone can help? Thanks.

By russell_n... 8 years ago
Try to have very bright flood lights reflected off the walls. That will diffuse but give you extra illumination.

By ruby_walk... 8 years ago
Use multiple lights with their beams in different directions and criss-crossing. Also, use warm white and yellows.

By bing_mart... 8 years ago
Use portable floodlights and spotlights that are bounced off the walls and the ceiling.

By wright_he... 8 years ago
You can actually rent photography umbrellas that can focus light, this works great for movies.

By Chen 8 years ago

Using flood lights as indoor studio lights

Last post by John, 8 years ago

Posts: 4

Views: 826

Has anyone ever experimented with using flood lights as indoor studio lights?

By Charlotte 8 years ago
They will work fine but the only thing you need to note is that flood lights have a very broad beam angle, so you will not be able to get a focused beam. If the stage needs a general bright light then perfect.

By Chen 8 years ago
Flood lights are particularly good in indoor studios to bounce off either the walls or the ceiling, to create a "sun" look.

By Maria 8 years ago
You can also use them to fake cars and street lamps at night.

By John 8 years ago

What are the best light for use for commercial purposes?

Last post by russell_natalie, 8 years ago

Posts: 11

Views: 953

In terms of warehouses, factories and retail shops what are the best commercial lights to use?

By Johnson 8 years ago
For huge factories, you can't go past high-bays.

By Chen 8 years ago
Slimline battens and panels are very popular now, particularly in garage stations and parking stations.

By Mike 8 years ago
For commercial premises that are also trying to look stylish, track lights and ceiling spotlights can look stunning. There are some very high end designer models available these days.

By John 8 years ago
High lumen surface mounted downlights are now popular as shop lights, particularly when you can't install recessed lights into the ceiling.

By Nancy 8 years ago
I adore black downlights in offices.

By Hanry 8 years ago
LED panels also come with suspensions so you can use them even with very high ceilings.

By smith_eli... 8 years ago
Lets not forget high lumens gimble (over 1000 lumens). Nothing beats them in retail stores.

By john_marg... 8 years ago
A lot of commercial premises now use LED strip lights which is an extremely effective illumination method.

By parkar_da... 8 years ago
For jewellers, commercial grade undercabinet lights are a must.

By russell_n... 8 years ago
view all posts

High cost of commercial lights

Last post by russell_natalie, 8 years ago

Posts: 4

Views: 847

Commercial lights seem to cost quite a bit more compared to residential lights, is the extra cost really worth it?

By Cynthia 8 years ago
Commercial lights will last far longer than residential lights - sometimes the lifespan will be 500% more. This will not only save you massive amounts in lights themselves, but also save you maintenance costs which can be a killer.

By jones_eth... 8 years ago
I would say the cost is absolutely worth it. If you try to install a residential light like a downlight in a commercial setting, it will work at first but very soon you will get a high failure rate. Residential lights simply can't handle the sort of loads that commercial areas demand of them, such as 24/7 uptime, vandalism etc.

By bing_mart... 8 years ago
Lifespan is the biggest difference, commercial grade LED lights can last 5 or even 10 times as longer.

By russell_n... 8 years ago

Are LED lights better than fluorescent lights for commercial purposes?

Last post by jack_wood, 8 years ago

Posts: 6

Views: 942

Are LED lights better than fluorescent for commercial purposes, and if so, how?

By Charlotte 8 years ago
Compared to LED lights, fluorescent lights: - Have a shorter lifespan - They degrade (flicker, turn pink, take longer to start discharging etc) - They consume more energy

By Chen 8 years ago
About 15% of the fluorescent light's energy is used up in heat so they are much less efficient.

By Mike 8 years ago
Fluorescent lights are multidirectional so they emit light in all directions, which means they are very inefficient

By Maria 8 years ago
Also fluorescent lights emit a small amount of UV radiation which is not dangerous in that quantity, but it is not good either - and can impact delicate paintings.

By ruby_walk... 8 years ago
An LED light can last as long as 100,000 best case whereas fluorescent lights will last best case 15,000 hours.

By jack_wood 8 years ago

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