Commercial LED Lighting: A Complete Guide
Written for building managers, interior designers, facilities managers, electrical contractors, and project teams specifying LED for commercial installations.
Types of Commercial LED Lighting
Lux Levels for Commercial Spaces
Lux is a measure of illuminance — how much light reaches a surface. Different commercial environments have different requirements.
| Environment | Required lux level |
|---|---|
| Office general lighting | 300–500 lux at desk height |
| Retail general | 500–1,000 lux |
| Retail accent and display | 1,000–3,000 lux |
| Hospitality — restaurant dining | 100–200 lux ambient, 300+ food service |
| Warehouse aisles | 100–200 lux |
| Reception areas | 200–300 lux |
For larger projects, a DIALux or Relux calculation is the industry standard — typically provided by the manufacturer or a lighting designer at specification stage.
Control Systems for Commercial LED Lighting
- On/off zone switching — suitable for simple warehouse or storage environments
- 0–10V dimming — analogue dimming, widely used in offices, straightforward to install
- DALI — digital addressable protocol, enables individual driver control, scene programming, and BMS integration. The professional standard for office, retail, and hospitality
- Casambi / Bluetooth mesh — wireless, suitable for retrofit and mid-scale commercial projects
- BMS integration — for large facilities where lighting feeds into an integrated energy management platform
Energy Savings with LED
For a building running lighting 12 hours a day, five days a week, the payback period on an LED retrofit is typically 18 to 36 months. LED lamps and strips also have significantly longer rated lifespans than T8 tubes or halogen, reducing maintenance costs considerably in commercial settings with high-ceiling installations.
Related guides
What is DALI lighting? → LED strip voltage explained → IP ratings explained → What driver do I need? →Specifying for a commercial project?
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