How to Light a Warehouse

UK Standards and Lux Requirements

Warehouse lighting in the UK must comply with:

• BS EN 12464-1 — lighting of indoor workplaces, specifying maintained illuminance, uniformity and glare limits for storage, packing and inspection tasks. • The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 — requiring 'suitable and sufficient' lighting in all work areas. • CIBSE SLL Lighting Handbook — providing detailed guidance on industrial lighting design.

Recommended maintained illuminance levels:

• General storage / bulk warehousing — 100 lux (floor level) • Racking aisles (pick faces) — 150–200 lux vertical illuminance on rack labels • Packing and despatch — 300 lux • Goods-in / inspection areas — 300–500 lux • Loading bays — 150–200 lux • Circulation routes — 100 lux • Cold stores — 200 lux

Uniformity ratio (Uo) should be at least 0.4 across the working area — meaning the minimum illuminance should be no less than 40% of the average. This prevents dark spots that reduce pick accuracy and create safety hazards.

High Bay vs Linear: Choosing the Right Luminaire

The two primary luminaire types for warehouses are high bays and linear systems, each suited to different configurations:

High bays: • Best for open-plan warehousing with mounting heights of 6–15m • Point-source distribution suits wide aisle configurations • Available with narrow (40°), medium (60°) and wide (90°+) beam angles • Typical wattages: 100W–250W per fitting

Linear systems: • Best for narrow-aisle racking (VNA — Very Narrow Aisle) where continuous rows of light between racking provide even vertical illuminance on pick faces • Lower glare than point-source high bays when viewed from racking aisles • Easier to align with racking rows during installation • Typical wattages: 40W–80W per metre

For mixed-use warehouses (open bulk storage plus narrow-aisle racking), a combination of both luminaire types often delivers the best result — high bays for the open zones, linear systems for the VNA sections.

EOS offers both high bay and linear luminaires with warehouse-optimised optics, achieving the required vertical and horizontal illuminance with fewer fittings and lower installed wattage.

Aisle Lighting and Vertical Illuminance

In racking warehouses, horizontal illuminance on the floor is only part of the story. Vertical illuminance on rack faces — where operatives read labels, scan barcodes and identify products — is equally important.

BS EN 12464-1 recommends a vertical illuminance of at least 150 lux on pick faces for manual order picking, rising to 200 lux for barcode scanning and quality inspection.

Design strategies for effective aisle lighting:

• Asymmetric optics — luminaires with asymmetric beam distributions that throw light onto vertical rack faces rather than just the floor • Luminaire positioning — mounting directly above the aisle centre (not above the racking) ensures both faces of the aisle receive illumination • Mounting height — luminaires mounted too high waste light on top-of-racking; too low creates glare for forklift operators. Optimal mounting is typically 1–2m below the top of the racking • Uniformity — consistent illuminance from floor level to the top pick face prevents operatives straining to read labels at height

EOS high bays are available with warehouse aisle optics that prioritise vertical illuminance, reducing the number of fittings needed while improving pick-face visibility.

Emergency Lighting in Warehouses

Warehouses require emergency lighting compliant with BS 5266-1 and BS EN 1838:

• Escape routes — 1 lux minimum on the centre line of the escape route, with 0.5 lux minimum on a 2m band (50% uniformity ratio) • Open areas >60m² — 0.5 lux anti-panic illuminance across the area, excluding a 0.5m border • High-risk task areas — maintained illuminance of at least 10% of the normal task illuminance, with a minimum of 15 lux • Exit signs — illuminated, visible from the maximum viewing distance, compliant with BS ISO 3864

In high-racking environments, emergency luminaires must be positioned to illuminate escape routes at floor level — not just the top of the racking. Consideration must be given to the shadowing effect of tall racking runs, which can block light from ceiling-mounted emergency fittings.

EOS offers self-contained and central battery emergency solutions suitable for warehouse environments, including IP65-rated fittings for cold stores and food processing areas.

Controls and Energy Management

Warehouse energy costs can be dramatically reduced through intelligent lighting controls:

• Occupancy/absence detection — high bays dim to 10–20% or switch off in unoccupied aisles, restoring full output when a forklift or operative enters the zone. Savings of 40–60% are typical.

• Daylight harvesting — warehouses with translucent roof panels or clerestory windows can dim artificial lighting when natural light contributes sufficient illuminance. Savings depend on roof light area and orientation.

• Zoned switching — dividing the warehouse into independently controlled zones allows lighting to match operational activity. Night-shift operations rarely need the entire warehouse illuminated.

• Time scheduling — automated dimming or switch-off during non-operational hours, breaks and shift changes.

• Aisle-by-aisle control — in VNA configurations, each aisle can be independently controlled via occupancy sensors mounted at the aisle entrance, providing light only where and when it's needed.

EOS supports DALI-2, 1-10V and wireless Plexus control protocols across our industrial range, enabling any of these strategies individually or in combination.