Commercial Fluorescent Lights

Guidelines for Contractors Installing Fluorescent Floodlights-
If you want to use fluorescent floodlights to light your client’s building with a uniform beam spread, RLLD Commercial Lighting recommends that you go by the following guidelines in this blog. If you have to vary the lighting levels, you can do this by changing lamp wattage without changing out the fixtures.

Establish the Proper Aiming Points
To get a uniform distribution of light from top to bottom, aim fluorescent floodlights two thirds up the vertical surface. For instance, if the wall is 25 feet high, aim your fixtures 17 feet up from the ground.

What to do with limited setback.
Setback is often encountered. Work with what space you have. The minimum acceptable setback distance is one-quarter the height of the wall. If you have more space, install the fixtures at the same distance from the wall as your aiming point is from the ground. For example, going by our example above, that would be 17 feet back from the building.

Regardless of setback, the spacing between should be twice the setback.
To get optimum uniformity of luminance, space fluorescent floodlights at a distance two times the distance of setback. In our current example, fixtures setback 17 feet from the wall must be spaced 34 feet apart. This causes the light beams to overlap one another, resulting in a uniform spread. If a client is more concerned with cost than with uniformity, however, you may purchase fewer commercial lighting fixtures and vary spacing up to five times the setback distance.

Tell your client about the advantages that fluorescent floodlights offer over inground uplights.
There are times when facilities managers request uplights because they are so easy to conceal and do not intrude into the scene. Nevertheless, they are better used as sign lights, monument lights, or decorative landscape lights. When they are mounted close to a large surface like a building wall, they cast a near vertical beam upward. You cannot achieve uniformity with this type of beam spread.

Get a photometric design from RLLD Commercial Lighting.
The example we provided assumes there is a more or less symmetrical building to light and sufficient acreage to give your team the necessary amount of setback. This ideal scenario is not always found in the real world, however. Real world scenarios are much more complex and demanding, and they often call for more architectural lighting design and installation strategies that take too many billable hours to compute.

It is so much better to have our lighting design team calculate setback and spacing for you. This will also help us recommend the best fixtures to use. This saves time and money for both you and your client, and is sometimes the only way to avoid error if you are installing fluorescent floodlights at a multi-building location.

A 3D photometric lighting design will ensure you will create the appropriate foot candle measurements regardless of the symmetry of the individual buildings, their relationship to each another, and the amount of available setback.

This 3D model is also that you can show to our client that will show them the location and beam spreads of the fluorescent lighting fixtures we recommend. The cost of this photometric design will be deducted from your final invoice total if and when you buy the equipment from us.

If you buy your industrial outdoor products from us, we will refund the value of the photometric design by deducting it from your equipment purchase invoice. This will also save you money on service charges.

RLLD Commercial Lighting carries a wide variety of industrial lighting & commercial parking lot lighting fixtures. If you can not find what you are looking for contact us toll free at 1-866-654-3961 or read one of our many related lighting articles. You never know what you will find at RLLD.

Our lighting designers are located in Houston, Texas with stocking distribution centers located throughout the United States that enable us to service and ship to all 50 states including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Miami, FL. Chicago, IL. Denver CO., New Orleans, La., Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City, Mo., Mesa, Arizona, Virginia Beach, Va., Omaha, Nebraska, Oakland, California, Miami, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Arlington, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, Denton, TX, McKinney, Texas, Midland, TX, Killeen, Texas, Dallas TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, ALBQ, NYC, LA, MPLS.

Fluorescent Wall Pack Lighting

I’m a building manager. Why have I never even heard of wall packs until now?
Fluorescent wall packs are the most common types of exterior wall lights now. People see them so much they basically don’t even notice them. They also don’t draw much attention to themselves because they are so easy to install and require only infrequent replacement in most cases.

Is fluorescent light good enough for this type of lighting?
Yes. Any industrial lighting designer will testify to the fact that fluorescent can output all the light you need for building lighting at even lower energy saving costs than the best metal halides. Not only that, but if there is a power outage in your area, fluorescent wall packs will come right back on without the startup time required by halide outdoor commercial lights.

Will they cost me a lot of money to install?
No, because fluorescent wall pack fixtures are engineered for convenience. Most are single unit builds that only need to be wired to a power source. They cast an even distribution of light around their immediate area which combines the luminance of other wall packs. The fluorescent lamps are very energy efficient and can provide lighting of this type for both safety and security without costing a business an arm and a leg.

Is there a cheap, one-size fits all fluorescent wall pack fixture?
No. Not every single wall pack light is right for your particular building. That is why we recommend that you talk about the much different wattage, intensities, and physical sizes of these lights in order to determine which one will best meet your needs.

Why should I spend money on a lighting designer when the fixtures are already going to cost me money?
Because it will cost you much more if you purchase the wrong fixtures or if you buy too many fixtures. There is never any obligation to buy professional lighting supplies from us. You have the choice to simply buy the design and give it to your local electrical contractor.

Another reason to invest in a photometric plan is to make sure you comply with lighting ordinances in your area. Some of these requirements may look impossible to meet at face value. For example, some cities mandate that fluorescent wall packs around a building be mounted in such a way that their light is never seen above the roof line. This seems impossible to the lay person, but it is not to lighting designers.

All an expert has to do is find fixtures that will point downward and still produce the desired foot candle distribution patter.

How can I get a photometric plan?
Just to call our office and speak to our fluorescent lighting design team. We will normally request schematics, CAD drawings, photographs, measurements, or other documents determined to be relevant to our design process. We will then input this data into advanced photometric software that will allow us to design a 3D model of your proposed lighting system.

Can I get the design for free?
If you buy the equipment from us, you will get your money invested in the plan deducted off the total amount of the final invoice. Costs for photometric "point by point" layouts are reasonable priced and well worth the investment. What other website can provide this type of scientific information prior to investing in commercial lighting equipment? Only RLLD offers photometric lighting designs directly to engineers, builders, developers, owners or other decision makers responsible for spending money wisely.

Related Topics:
Commercial & Industrial Lighting
Commercial Outdoor Lighting
Commercial Security Lighting Fixtures
Area Lighting & Parking Area Lights
Commercial Lighting Design
Commercial Interior Lighting

RLLD Commercial Lighting carries a wide variety of architectural lighting fixtures. If you can not find what you are looking for contact us toll free at 1-866-654-3961 and we will find it for you. RLLD.com is located in Houston, Texas with warehouses located throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Miami, FL. Chicago, IL. Denver CO., New Orleans, La., Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City, Mo., Mesa, Arizona, Virginia Beach, Va., Omaha, Nebraska, Oakland, California, Miami, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Arlington, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, Denton, TX, McKinney, Texas, Midland, TX, Killeen, Texas, Dallas TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, ALBQ, NYC, LA, MPLS.

Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures

Fluorescent light fixtures offer your clients both a front-end savings and a back-end return on investment. They are far less expensive than LED, Induction, and MH luminaires, and their energy efficiency lighting, lamp life, and performance level is undisputed. As 2010 is just around the corner, all of us are faced with the impending need to replace all incandescent lamps with newer, more energy saving, and more environmentally friendly luminaires. In spite of the fear and uncertainty we face in this recession, putting it off for too long will only result in more complications down the line, because parts shortages are almost sure to come when everyone scrambles at the last minute for replacements and retrofits.

In actuality, now is the best time to propose to fluorescent lighting fixtures to clients whose genuine need and limited budget make them ideal candidates for an affordable purchase that compounds a savings/reinvestment return that will wind paying for the equipment anyway.

You really won’t be able to offer your client a better deal than this. When funds are limited, fluorescent light fixtures are the perfect replacement for incandescent sources because they come in so many shapes and sizes, and they are equally viable for indoor and outdoor lighting applications.

Any client you encounter can utilize compact fluorescent light fixtures to generate a better quality of light and a lower monthly electric bill. Schools, churches, warehouses, corporate office parks, retail establishments, libraries, non-profit headquarters, and government buildings are just of few of the many organizations that will benefit from specification grade, American made fluorescent lighting fixtures, ballasts, and lamps.

It is important for you to help your clients understand the differences between commercial fluorescent lights and incandescent lights. A fluorescent light fixture is designed to be fundamentally different from an incandescent light. The core operative in an incandescent is a filament that produces a bright, white light when current passes through it. When Thomas Edison first invented the incandescent lamp, it revolutionized the world.

However, as world population has grown, the demand for fuel needed to produce electricity has exponentially increased. Limitations unforeseen by Edison have now made incandescent lamps inefficient and obsolete. They waste too much power, generate too much heat, often create blinding glare, and they burn out way too fast. They also produce greenhouse gasses that are released into the atmosphere if a bulb gets broken.

Fluorescent light fixtures were the first luminaires that required no filament to produce light. Instead, they pass an electric arc between tungsten cathodes in a tube filled with low pressure mercury vapor mixed with other trace gasses. This arc excites the mercury vapor, producing radiant ultraviolet energy. This ultraviolet light strikes a phosphor coating on the inside of the tube and causes it to “fluoresce” into visible light. A ballast, either magnetic or electronic, controls the electron flow to prevent the lamp from pulling too much current and burning itself out.

You will no doubt encounter many clients who already have such fluorescent fixtures already in place and who feel they are fine with what they have. Please point out that many foreign made and retail fluorescent fixtures have magnetic ballasts that cannot regulate electron flow as efficiently as commercial grade electronic ballasts can. Consequently, they tend to have lower Lumens per Watt efficiency and won’t do your client as much good in the long run.

If you are proposing fluorescent light fixtures for any type of landscape or outdoor site lighting system, you really have no option but to go with the highest LPW possible. Regulations on power consumption are only going to get tougher in the years to come, so it this is one area where costs effectiveness means buying the best, not the most convenient or expedient, ballast technology.

Because fluorescent lighting fixtures use electricity to agitate gases rather than heating a filament, they operate at much cooler temperatures than incandescent lights. This results in two benefits you can pass directly on to your clients. For one thing, the cooler temperatures in the office, warehouse, or factory will less electricity for the HVAC system to cool the building to cool the building. Secondly, the fluorescent fixture itself will last longer, as prolonged exposure to heat will cause virtually any substance to deteriorate.

A long lasting fixture like a fluorescent light will not need to be replaced as often. Your clients will avoid wasting money on buying new induction lighting equipment, and they will save money on the labor associated with installing them as well.

RLLD Commercial Lighting is a Design Services and Domestic Lighting Equipment Source committed to providing contractors with the very best American made products and lighting design support services. By placing an order with us, you can obtain a free photometric analysis of your client’s site generated by means of our sophisticate lighting design software. Any information you require on new technology that will help you win a bid to your client can also be obtained simply by calling a specialist now.

RLLD Commercial Lighting carries a wide variety of industrial & commercial lighting supplies. If you can not find what you are looking for call us toll free at 1-866-654-3961 and we will find it for you.

Our home office is located in Houston, Texas with warehouses located throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Miami, FL. Chicago, IL. Denver CO., New Orleans, La., Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City, Mo., Mesa, Arizona, Virginia Beach, Va., Omaha, Nebraska, Oakland, California, Miami, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Arlington, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, Denton, TX, McKinney, Texas, Midland, TX, Killeen, Texas, Dallas TX, San Antonio, TX, Austin, TX, ALBQ, NYC, LA, MPLS.

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