Warehouse and High-Bay LED Lighting
Light at height, in aisles and on the dock — where the fixtures are hardest to reach.
A warehouse is lit from twenty or thirty feet up, for long hours, over people driving equipment. That makes it one of the best places in commercial building to switch to LED and one of the most awkward to work in. ThreeCo designs and installs warehouse and high-bay lighting, from a single aisle to a whole building.
The Vestis Warehouse in Kansas City, Missouri, on our portfolio, was a full build — power distribution, lighting and wiring for the whole facility. Much warehouse lighting work is smaller than that: replacing the high-bays that are already there.
What this covers
- High-bay fixtures in warehouses, distribution and manufacturing space, and gyms.
- Aisle lighting between racking, where the light has to reach the bottom shelf and not just the floor.
- Dock and canopy lighting at the loading doors.
- Occupancy sensors and dimming, so aisles nobody is using are not lit at full power.
- The circuits feeding the lighting, and the other electrical work a warehouse needs — see Warehouse and industrial on our Industries page.
Why warehouses switch to LED
Older warehouses are lit with metal halide or fluorescent high-bays. Metal halide takes minutes to reach full brightness after it is switched on and loses output steadily as it ages; fluorescent high-bays have many lamps per fixture, each one a lamp change at height. Every one of those changes means a lift in an aisle that is supposed to be moving product.
LED high-bays come on instantly, which is what makes occupancy controls practical in a warehouse at all. An aisle can sit dim until a forklift turns into it.
How ThreeCo does it
- 1
Walk the building
We count the fixtures, note the mounting heights and the racking layout, and mark the aisles and work areas that need more or less light than they get.
- 2
Design
Bob DeFries, our CEO, picks fixtures and optics for the layout — a narrow aisle between tall racks needs a different beam from an open floor — and designs the controls with them. A photometric layout is available on request.
- 3
Install
A crew led by Master Electrician Jason Strange works from lifts, aisle by aisle. We schedule the install with you.
- 4
Commission
Sensors and dimming are programmed and tested before we leave.
What affects the cost
The fixture count and the mounting height come first. After that: whether a retrofit kit or a new fixture is the right answer for the existing housings; how many aisles and zones the controls need; lift access and how much of the floor can be cleared at once; and whether the branch circuits feeding the lighting need work. We quote it as a number, not a range, after the walk-through.
Permits, inspection and rebates
Replacing fixtures and adding controls is electrical work, and many jurisdictions want a permit and an inspection for it; new circuits always do. We check with your city before work starts. On a Kansas-side Evergy account, high-bay replacements are on Evergy's current incentive list; on the Missouri side, lighting is not offered today. When a program is open, ThreeCo files the paperwork as part of the job.
The project that proves it
A project behind this page
FAQ
Questions about warehouse and high-bay led lighting
How is the install scheduled?
With you. Tell us how the building runs — shifts, busy aisles, dock times — and we schedule the install with you before work starts.
Are occupancy sensors worth it in a warehouse?
In aisles that see traffic only part of the day, usually. LED comes on instantly, so an aisle can sit dim until somebody drives into it. We design the zones with the fixtures.
Retrofit kit or new fixture?
If the existing housings are sound, a retrofit kit can be the faster job. If they are corroded, or the optics are wrong for the racking, a new fixture is the better answer. We say which, and why, in the quote.
Is there a warranty?
Yes. On an LED retrofit: one year on workmanship, five years on materials.
How do I get a quote?
Start with Watt, the chat button on this page. Tell it the building, the ceiling height and roughly how many fixtures. You can also call (816) 730-9100. Estimates are free unless a site visit is needed to scope the job; where one is, there is a trip charge, waived if you move forward with the work.
High-bays dim, or still on metal halide?
Tell Watt the building and roughly how many fixtures. We will come back with a real number.
New customers: start with Watt and get 10% off your first job.