Lighting Guides

Exit Signs and Emergency Lighting: What Inspectors Look For
The 90 minute rule, the one foot candle path, where exit signs are required and how far apart, self testing versus manual testing, and the monthly and annual test records that get asked for at inspection. Read more...
Occupancy Sensors: PIR vs Microwave vs Dual Tech
How each sensing technology actually detects a person, where each one fails, coverage by mounting height, time delay and step dimming settings, and the three mounting mistakes that generate nuisance callbacks. Read more...
Parking Lot Lighting: Distribution Types and Pole Spacing
What Type II, III, IV and V distributions do, how to space poles from mounting height, the uniformity ratio that decides whether a lot looks lit, mounting options and what dark sky ordinances now require. Read more...
Wet Location, Damp Location and IP Ratings Explained
What UL wet and damp location listings actually cover, how IP ratings differ from them, which rating each type of space needs, and the ratings that matter for washdown, cold storage, coastal and car wash installs. Read more...
Panels, Troffers and Center Baskets: What Goes Where
Flat panel, center basket and volumetric troffer compared on glare, ceiling type and cost, plus 2x2 versus 2x4 versus 1x4 sizing, back lit versus edge lit construction, and the grid compatibility check that stops a delivery going back. Read more...
How to Choose an LED Wall Pack
Full cutoff versus semi cutoff versus traditional, how to size the wattage from mounting height and coverage, photocell and sensor options, dark sky ordinances, and the corrosion question that decides which housing lasts on a coastal building. Read more...
Foot Candle Requirements by Space Type
Recommended light levels for warehouse, office, retail, school, healthcare, parking and exterior spaces, what uniformity ratio means, and why an average foot candle number on its own will not keep a client happy. Read more...
Replacing Metal Halide with LED: Wattage Equivalents That Actually Work
Why the old one third rule overshoots on modern fixtures, a wattage equivalent table for metal halide and high pressure sodium, what mean lumens means for your comparison, and the color shift nobody warns the customer about. Read more...
LED Tube Types Explained: Type A, Type B and Hybrid
Type A, Type B, Type C and hybrid LED tubes, what each one does to the fixture, the shunted socket trap that catches people on single ended ballast bypass, and why your utility may pay more for one than the other. Read more...
How Many LED High Bays Do You Need for a Warehouse?
A working method for sizing a warehouse high bay layout: foot candle targets by task, the lumen method with a worked 20,000 square foot example, spacing to mounting height ratios, and the beam angle decision that racking forces on you. Read more...