Matching LED lighting to the challenge can be quite an effort especially with all the choices available for industrial and general purpose lighting from a myriad of companies offering products for this market.
According to our lighting team, more than 600 companies in the U.S. provide LED fixtures for industry and general purpose. And that includes fixture manufacturers such as Acuity, Cooper by Eaton, Hubbell, Philips (now Signify), and others. It does not include makers of accessories, lighting resellers, and others.
It's a large and growing industry presenting literally thousands of fixture choices, many of which can address multiple applications.
It's all about the classification
The most important element in selecting LED fixtures is to understand the classification that fixture must have for the environment in which it will be installed. Here are a few of the most common applications we run across. There are many more applications, but this will provide a quick overview.
Hazardous environments
Hazardous Environments Classes:
- Class I locations are those in which flammable gases or vapors may be present.
- Class II locations are those in which combustible dust may be present.
- Class III locations are those which are hazardous because of the presence of easily ignitable fibers or flyings.
Lighting fixtures for these applications are well labeled and carry a price commensurate with the extra materials and work that go into making them conform to the NFPA standard.
Within any manufacturers range, there are many choices as to fixture type. From floodlights to high bays, low bays to area lights, linears, and wall packs. It's a potentially dizzying assortment of ratings and lighting types. To a large degree, the location dictates the fixture type.
High bay locations include areas such as high-stack warehouses, manufacturing, power generation plants - any place where the lighting is located in a bay area above the workspace. Low bay areas typically include garages, cold storage areas, and general lighting. Some of these are hazardous where airborne gases, vapors, dust or flyings are present. Dialight is known for developing class rated lighting for nearly any hazardous environment, and their fixtures carry a no-hassle warranty.
Wash Down Environments
While not uniquely different from hazardous environments - many of the class ratings are the same - wash down environments are usually associated with food and beverage processing. As such they bring into view some special requirements. Wash down procedures require that equipment withstand regular exposure to water and other cleaning agents.
Classifications Include:
- IP 65 -per IEC 60529 standards for dust tight and protection against water projected from a nozzle in any direction
- IP 66 - per the standards for dust-tight and protected again water projected in powerful jets from any direction.
- IP 67 - as above and protected against the effect of immersion between 15cm and 1m.
One of the most requested requirements for wash down environments is fixture surfaces that do not retain water following the wash down process. A popular solution is a linear fixture with sealed replaceable lenses. The Eaton Metalux typifies this class of fixture. Many other fixture manufacturers offer watertight type linear fixtures. Hubbell LVT vapor tight fixtures are available with appropriate wash down ratings.
Related to wash down environments are the standards that govern wet, outdoor environments. Typically, these include fixtures that comply with UL 1598A Marine Outdoor, UL 1498 Wet Location and IP 66 and NEMA 4x.
General Industrial Applications
Although the classification ratings are less stringent for general purpose lighting, they are no less important. The choices are wide with styles available in high bay, low bay, linear and others. Cooper Lighting offers a wide range of choices in general industrial lighting. Some manufacturers, realizing that the lighting may need to be aesthetically pleasing, offer a choice of lighting fixture colors. Many of these fixtures are wet or damp listed but without the more demanding IP 66 or IP 67 rating.
With so many choices, class ratings and styles to choose from the process of matching the lighting fixture to the challenge can be daunting. Manufacturer websites are very helpful if you're willing to spend time sorting through the various categories, attributes, and certifications available.
