Warehouse high bay lighting layout: how to plan it properly

Most warehouse lighting problems are layout problems, not fitting problems: lights over the racks instead of down the aisles, bright patches with dim zones in between, and pickers squinting at bottom-shelf labels. Sort the layout before you count high bays.

Start with how the space is used

Build the layout around the work, not the roof:

  • What happens where. Bulk storage, pick faces, packing benches, dispatch, forklift lanes and amenities all need different light.
  • Racking. Height, aisle widths and which way the aisles run. This is the biggest single factor.
  • Hours. A two-shift site in winter has different priorities from one that mostly runs in daylight.
  • Conditions. Dust, roof heat, cool rooms, washdown or corrosive air narrow down which fittings suit.

The standard: AS/NZS 1680

Interior and workplace lighting in Australia is usually designed against the AS/NZS 1680 series: enough light for the task, spread evenly, with glare under control. A dispatch bench needs a different level from bulk storage, and light on the vertical rack face (where pickers read labels) matters as much as light on the floor.

If your tenancy, insurer, client or safety team has set a requirement, that's the target. If not, your designer should state the targets they're using and why, so you can agree them before anything's ordered.

Mounting height

Mounting height decides which optics work and how far apart the fittings go:

  • Higher generally means each fitting covers more floor, but you need the right beam to get light down where it's needed, not across the walls.
  • Lower usually means more fittings at closer spacing, and glare control matters more because they're nearer eye level.

Measure to the underside of the purlins or the mounting point, not the ridge, and note anything in the way: sprinklers, ducts, crane rails, skylights.

Aisles or open floor: UFO or linear?

  • Racked aisles need light in the aisle, down the rack faces from top to bottom. Run fittings along the centre line of each aisle, not across the racking. Linear high bays or aisle optics are often the better choice because they spread light along the aisle instead of over the racks.
  • Open floors (workshops, dispatch, bulk floor storage) usually suit UFO high bays in a regular grid, spaced so the light overlaps evenly.

Plenty of sites need both: linear down the aisles, UFOs over dispatch. If the racking might move in the next few years, say so, because it can change the answer.

Our LED high bay collection has both styles: priced fittings you can buy now, plus own-range high bays made to order with our manufacturing partners and quoted for the job.

Spacing and uniformity

Patchy light tires eyes, hides trip hazards and makes labels hard to read. Spacing should come from the fittings' photometric data, so neighbouring fittings overlap evenly. Ask to see calculated light levels across the floor and up the rack faces, not just a fitting count.

Glare and safety

Forklift drivers look up at the forks and pickers look up at high shelves, so a bright, bare fitting in their line of sight is a safety issue. Low-glare optics, sensible mounting heights and keeping fittings out of common sightlines all help.

Controls: don't light empty aisles

  • Motion sensors in aisles, so lights dim when no one's there and come up as a forklift turns in
  • Daylight sensors near skylights and roller doors
  • Zoning and scheduling, so dispatch can run while bulk storage stays dimmed

Savings depend on your hours and how the space is used, so send the existing wattage, fitting count and hours and we'll work out the numbers for your site instead of quoting a headline percentage. For larger buildings, see DALI lighting control.

Emergency and exit lighting

While you're at it, check the emergency and exit lighting. Our lighting design pack keeps that schedule separate from the general layout so it doesn't get missed.

What to send for a layout

Email info@alledirect.com with:

  1. A floor plan (a PDF or a photo of a sketch is fine) with racking and aisles marked
  2. Mounting height and roof type
  3. What each area's used for, and operating hours
  4. Conditions: dust, heat, cool rooms, washdown
  5. Existing fittings (type, wattage, how many) if you're upgrading
  6. Supply only or supply and install, plus your timing

Design, supply and install

We design, supply and install warehouse and industrial LED lighting across Australia. We've got our own electricians who travel to site, or we can work with your local electrician. See warehouse and industrial LED lighting, or browse LED high bays and LED floodlights.

Our design pack is design-assist work. A competent person must verify and certify the final design.

FAQs

Which way should high bays run in a racked warehouse?
Along the centre line of each aisle, so the light falls down the rack faces. Linear high bays or aisle optics usually suit aisles, and UFOs suit open floor.

How many high bay lights does my warehouse need?
It depends on mounting height, racking, the task and the fittings' photometric data, so a layout designed to AS/NZS 1680 is the reliable way to work it out. Email your floor plan to info@alledirect.com.

Do you install warehouse lighting?
Yes. We've got our own electricians who travel to site, or we can work with your local electrician.

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