LED Warehouse Lighting: High Bays, Aisles, Docks, Yard and Controls for Distribution Buildings

A warehouse is lit in five zones: the open floor and bulk storage under the roof deck, the racked aisles where the light has to reach the bottom shelf, the docks and staging areas where trucks and forklifts meet, the offices and mezzanine, and the truck court and perimeter outside. This page lists the high bays, linear fixtures, dock and yard fixtures, sensors and emergency units sold on auvolar.com for each zone, with the lumens, efficacy, beam angles, ingress and impact ratings, voltages and listings that their product pages publish. It quotes the one federal lighting rule that is specific to warehouses, separates it from the design guidance your engineer applies, and makes no claim about energy-saving percentages, rebates or payback: none of those is a published fixture parameter.

1. What the rules actually say

• Forklift areas have a numeric federal rule. OSHA's powered-industrial-truck standard states: "Where general lighting is less than 2 lumens per square foot, auxiliary directional lighting shall be provided on the truck" [S1]. Two lumens per square foot is the same quantity as two foot-candles. That is a rule about the truck, not a design target for the building; it is the reason a photometric layout for a warehouse should show the minimum, not just the average, in every lane a truck drives.
• Exit routes are federal workplace law. "Each exit route must be adequately lighted so that an employee with normal vision can see along the exit route" [S2]. Section 8 covers the exit signs and the emergency layer.
• Wet and damp locations are defined by OSHA. A wet location includes "locations subject to saturation with water or other liquids" and "locations unprotected and exposed to weather"; a damp location is "Partially protected locations under canopies, marquees, roofed open porches, and like locations" and "interior locations subject to moderate degrees of moisture" [S3]. Fixtures in those locations "shall be identified for the purpose" [S4]. The open dock canopy, a wash-down bay and the truck court are the usual warehouse cases.
• Light levels for storage and picking are not set by federal law. They come from the recommended practices your lighting designer or engineer applies and from the task: reading a label at the bottom of a rack is a different target from driving a wide aisle. No foot-candle target is published here; set it with the designer and verify it with a layout.
• Cold storage is its own subject. Freezers and coolers are not covered on this page; the fixtures and rules for them differ and are treated separately on the site.

2. Zone A — Open floor, bulk storage and cross-dock: UFO high bays

Round high bays cover an open floor from the roof deck with one fixture per bay. The three sold on auvolar.com differ in output, efficacy, beam options and ratings; which one fits a given mounting height is a layout question, not a rule of thumb.

Beam angle does the work at height: a 60° lens throws a tighter cone that reaches the floor from a high deck, a 120° lens spreads the same lumens across a wider bay from a lower one. IP65 means dust-tight and protected against water jets, IP66 against powerful water jets ("IP6X Dust-tight", "IPX5 Water jets", "IPX6 Powerful water jets") [S5], tested with the 6.3 mm and 12.5 mm nozzles respectively [S6]; IK08 and IK10 are impact ratings from the same UL explainer [S5]. In a dry warehouse the ingress rating matters mainly for dust and for the wash-down bay.

3. Zone B — Racked aisles: linear high bays

Between racks the fixture has to run along the aisle and push light down to the lowest pick face. Linear high bays do that with a long emitting surface and a narrower distribution.

For a very narrow aisle the 60° option on the round high bays (HBA, oH) or the 15° / 30° beams on the INS-D [S7][S8][S9] can be the better tool than a linear fixture, because the cone is aimed straight down the aisle; the layout decides.

4. Zone C — Docks, staging, wash-down and the dock canopy

The dock is where lighting, vehicle movement and weather meet. The loading dock lighting page covers the platform, the dock face, the trailer interior and the canopy in detail; the fixtures that belong there are these.

• Inside the dock and staging area. The Strip Light A-LSxFT publishes 4 and 8 ft lengths, 25–90 W selectable, 3,250–11,700 lm, 130 lm/W, 120–277 V and a UL listing for damp locations, and its page states that it replaces two 32 W T8 fluorescent tubes [S14]. Where the platform is open to the weather or hosed down, use the sealed fixtures in the vapor-tight category: the Tunable Vapor Tight AN-VT8FT publishes 45 / 60 / 70 / 80 W field-selectable, 5,850 / 7,800 / 9,100 / 10,040 lm, 130 lm/W, CRI 80, CCT 3500 / 4000 / 5000 K, IP65 and 120–277 VAC [S15]; the Vapor Tight Strip AN-VF4FT publishes 40 W, 5,200 lm, 130 lm/W, IP65, IK08, 100–277 V, 5000 K and CRI 80, with an optional microwave motion sensor [S16].
• Dock doors and the dock wall. The Adjustable Flood Light A-FL publishes 60–150 W selectable, 8,400–21,000 lm, 140 lm/W, an adjustable beam, IP65, 120–277 V and 0–10 V dimming [S34]; the Wall Pack A-WP publishes 9,000–22,500 lm, 150 lm/W, a Type IV distribution rotatable 90°, IP65, 120–277 VAC, an integrated photocell and 0–10 V dimming, and its page states that it replaces 250–400 W HID wall packs [S31].
• Dock canopy exit doors. The EX05 wet-location exit sign publishes IP65, "UL 924 (Wet locations)", 120 / 277 V, 2.0 W, a 3.6 V NiCd battery, 90 minutes and wall, end or ceiling mount [S24]; the EMWP wall pack publishes an integrated emergency battery backup, photocell on/off and a wet-location rating [S27].

5. Zone D — Offices, break rooms and the mezzanine

The office pod inside a warehouse is lit like any office. The Troffer AN-TF24-NV publishes 40 / 50 W, 5,200 / 6,500 lm, 130 lm/W, CRI Ra80, CCT 3500 / 4000 / 5000 K, 0–10 V dimming, a 2 × 4 ft recessed form and a dry / damp location rating [S18]; the Tunable Panel A-SFPL publishes 20 / 30 / 40 W, 2,660 / 3,990 / 5,320 lm, 133 lm/W, CRI Ra80 and embedded, surface, wall or suspended mounting [S19]; the Tunable Panel AN-BP publishes 20 / 40 W, up to 5,480 lm, 130 lm/W, 0–10 V, UGR 22 and a T-grid recessed form [S20]; the Downlight AN-DL covers 4 to 10 in apertures at 7–40 W, 700–4,000 lm, 100 lm/W and a 2700–5000 K selectable CCT [S21]. Corridors and stairs to the mezzanine that need their own emergency layer can use the LED Wraparound A-WR4FT, which publishes 15–40 W, 1,875–5,000 lm, 125 lm/W, an 8 W emergency backup and a damp-location rating [S17]. The rest of the troffer and panel category is listed on the site.

6. Zone E — Truck court, employee parking and the perimeter

Outside, a distribution building is a truck court lit all night, an employee lot, a guard shack and a fence line.

7. Controls: occupancy sensors, daylight and dimming

Aisle lighting that is off when nobody is in the aisle is the control most warehouses ask about. The product pages publish these options: optional occupancy sensors on the oH high bay [S8]; an optional microwave motion sensor on the AN-VF4FT vapor tight [S16]; 0–10 V dimming on the HBA, A-FL, A-WP and AN-TF24 [S7][S34][S31][S18] and 1–10 V on the A-LHB [S12]. As a separate accessory, the Microwave Sensor A-SN09VR-MS-Z10 publishes a Z10 base, a 15 m / 49 ft detection range, daylight harvesting and a 0–10 V output [S38]; a PIR version is listed in the same sensors category. Outdoors, the Photocell is sold in a 100–277 V and a 277–480 V version, and its page states that if the photocell fails the lights default to on [S39]. No product page publishes a percentage saving for sensors, and none is claimed here; the layout with the sensor zones marked is what produces that number for a given building. Keep the exit-route lighting on its own circuit so an occupancy sensor cannot switch it off.

8. Exits and the emergency layer

OSHA requires every exit route to be "adequately lighted" [S2]; the duration and output of emergency lighting under loss of power, and the testing schedule, come from the building code and life-safety code adopted by your jurisdiction and are set out on the emergency lighting requirements guide. The units sold on auvolar.com: the EX Series exit sign with battery backup publishes 120 / 277 V, 4 W max, a 1.2 V NiCd battery, 24 h recharge and 90 min discharge [S22]; the EM03 Series combo exit sign and emergency heads publishes 120 / 277 V, 0.9 W max standby, 4.8 W head output, a 3.6 V NiCd battery, 24 h charging, 90 min discharge and a UL listing [S23]; the EX05 covers the wet dock canopy [S24]. For the high bays themselves, the Emergency LED Driver A-EP08 publishes 8 W maximum lamp power, 90 minutes, a damp-location UL listing and an application list that names "linear, highbay" among the 0–10 V fixtures it fits [S25]; the A-EP09 / 15 / 25S family publishes 100–347 V input, 90 minutes and automatic self-test [S26]. Which doors and aisles need the emergency layer is the code question the guide walks through; the full exit sign category and driver category are listed on the site.

9. Replacing metal halide and fluorescent high bays

What is on the ceiling today is usually 400 W metal halide or T5HO / T8 fluorescent. The product pages make these replacement statements, which are theirs: the HBA is "one for one" for up to 1000 W metal halide [S7]; the A-HBL2/4FT is a one-for-one replacement for T5HO and T8 fluorescent high bays [S11]; the A-LSxFT replaces two 32 W T8 tubes [S14]; the A-LB takes an E26 or E39 lamp base for a lamp-for-lamp retrofit [S13]. For the metal halide side, a manufacturer data sheet for a 400 W pulse-start lamp lists approximate initial lumens of 31,000 (horizontal) to 36,000 (vertical) falling to mean values of 22,400 to 25,500, a 2–4 minute warm-up and a 5–7 minute hot restrike [S40]; the LED pages above publish instant-on output at their rated lumens, which is the practical difference on a floor where lights are switched by occupancy. No percentage saving is stated here; it is the difference between your fixture schedule and the one the layout produces.

10. How to specify and order

• Send the building footprint, rack layout and mounting heights to LightSpec AI, or upload your existing fixture schedule through BOM upload; the layout returns fixture positions and light levels per zone, including the minimum in every truck lane [S1].
• Mark the dock, wash-down bay and yard wet or damp with your electrician using the OSHA definitions in section 1 [S3], and specify fixtures published for that location [S4].
• Decide the sensor zones and the emergency layer with the electrical and life-safety drawings, and order the A-EP08 or A-EP09 drivers for the 0–10 V fixtures that need them [S25][S26].
• Warranty terms are published per product on each product page and by category on the warranty policy page; this page states none. In-stock items ship within 24 hours from the City of Industry, CA warehouse, and anything not in stock is confirmed with you before the order is placed [S41].

Frequently asked questions

Does OSHA set a light level for warehouses?

Not for storage or picking areas. The one numeric OSHA lighting rule specific to warehouse work is for powered industrial trucks: "Where general lighting is less than 2 lumens per square foot, auxiliary directional lighting shall be provided on the truck" [S1]. Exit routes must be "adequately lighted" [S2]. Design targets for aisles and docks come from your designer's recommended practices, which this page does not quote.

UFO or linear high bay for racked aisles?

Linear high bays run along the aisle and push light down the pick face; the AN-LB2/4FT publishes a 90° distribution and IP65, the A-HBL2/4FT 165 lm/W with pendant or chain mount, the A-LHB 1–10 V dimming for dry or damp aisles [S10][S11][S12]. A round high bay with a 60° lens (HBA, oH) or the 15° / 30° beams of the INS-D can serve a very narrow aisle from a high deck [S7][S8][S9]. The photometric layout, not the fixture type, settles it.

Can the high bays switch by occupancy?

The oH publishes optional occupancy sensors [S8]; the HBA, A-FL, A-WP and AN-TF24 publish 0–10 V dimming and the A-LHB 1–10 V, which a separate sensor drives [S7][S34][S31][S18][S12]; the A-SN09VR-MS-Z10 microwave sensor publishes a 15 m / 49 ft range, daylight harvesting and 0–10 V output [S38]. No saving percentage is published for any of them.

Which fixtures are rated for the wet dock canopy or a wash-down bay?

The AN-VT8FT and AN-VF4FT vapor tights publish IP65 [S15][S16]; the AN-LB2/4FT linear high bay publishes IP65 and the INS-D IP66 [S10][S9]; the EX05 exit sign publishes IP65 and "UL 924 (Wet locations)" [S24]; outdoors the AL, PLB, OT, A-FL, AN-FWP02, AN-TSFL and A-B publish IP65 or IP66 [S28][S29][S30][S34][S33][S35][S36]. Wet and damp are OSHA's definitions [S3], and fixtures in those locations must be identified for the purpose [S4].

What warranty applies to these fixtures?

Warranty terms are published per product on each product page and by category on the warranty policy page; this page does not state a single figure for all of them, and certifications are those listed on each product page. Ask for the product page of the exact model before ordering.

Sources

• [S1] OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.178(h)(2) "Where general lighting is less than 2 lumens per square foot, auxiliary directional lighting shall be provided on the truck." https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.178 (fetched 2026-10-09)
• [S2] OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.37(b)(1) "Each exit route must be adequately lighted so that an employee with normal vision can see along the exit route." https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.37 (fetched 2026-10-09)
• [S3] OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.399, Definitions — "Location: Damp location … Wet location" — https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.399 (fetched 2026-10-08)
• [S4] OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.305(j)(1)(iv) "Fixtures installed in wet or damp locations shall be identified for the purpose" — https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.305 (fetched 2026-10-08)
• [S5] UL, "IK & IP Testing for Lighting Products" (PDF, 2018): "IP6X Dust-tight", "IPX5 Water jets", "IPX6 Powerful water jets"; IK code explanation — https://code-authorities.ul.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/IK-and-IP-Testing-for-Lighting-Products.pdf (text-extracted 2026-10-08)
• [S6] ANSI/IEC 60529-2020 (NEMA identical national adoption, contents/scope PDF): 14.2.5 numeral 5 "with the 6,3 mm nozzle", 14.2.6 numeral 6 "with the 12,5 mm nozzle" — https://www.nema.org/docs/default-source/about-us-document-library/ansi-iec_60529-2020-contents-and-scopef0908377-f8db-4395-8aaa-97331d276fef.pdf (text-extracted 2026-10-08)
• [S7] Auvolar product page, UFO High Bay Light HBA Series, spec table and page text ("Replaces up to 1000W metal halide — one for one"), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S8] Auvolar product page, UFO High Bay Light oH Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S9] Auvolar product page, 315W-720W High Bay for High Temperature Environment INS-D, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S10] Auvolar product page, Linear High Bay Light AN-LB2/4FT, spec table ("Certifications ETL, FCC"; IP65), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S11] Auvolar product page, Linear High Bay Light A-HBL2/4FT, spec table and page text ("one-for-one replacement for T5HO / T8 fluorescent high bays"), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S12] Auvolar product page, Linear High Bay Light A-LHB-NV(HV)xK-02, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S13] Auvolar product page, Low Bay Light A-LB Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S14] Auvolar product page, Strip Light A-LSxFT, spec table and page text ("replaces two 32W T8 fluorescent tubes"), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S15] Auvolar product page, Turnable Vapor Tight AN-VT8FT 45/60/70/80W, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09 (named only — see links_deliberately_not_used)
• [S16] Auvolar product page, Vapor Tight Strip AN-VF4FT 40W, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09 (named only)
• [S17] Auvolar product page, LED Wraparound A-WR4FT, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S18] Auvolar product page, Troffer Fixture Light AN-TF24-NV, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S19] Auvolar product page, Tunable Panel Light A-SFPL, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S20] Auvolar product page, Tunable Panel Light AN-BP-xxW-345K-xxDS, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S21] Auvolar product page, CCT Tunable Downlight AN-DL 4/6/8/10IN, spec table and optic table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S22] Auvolar product page, LED Exit Sign Emergency Light With Battery Backup EX Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-08
• [S23] Auvolar product page, LED Emergency Exit Sign With Battery Backup EM03 Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S24] Auvolar product page, LED Exit Sign Emergency Light EX05 Series, spec table and "UL 924 (Wet locations)", fetched 2026-10-08
• [S25] Auvolar product page, Emergency LED Driver A-EP08, spec table (8 W max lamp power; 90 minutes; "Damp location (UL listed)"; application "0-10V dimmable indoor LED (panels, troffers, downlights, linear, highbay)"), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S26] Auvolar product page, Emergency LED Driver A-EP09/15/25S, spec table (100–347 V input; 90 min; automatic self-test), fetched 2026-10-08
• [S27] Auvolar product page, Wall Pack Light EMWP Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S28] Auvolar product page, 100W-500W Area Parking Lot Light AL Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S29] Auvolar product page, 75W-300W Area / Shoebox Light PLB Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S30] Auvolar product page, 75W-800W Area Light / Tennis Light OT Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S31] Auvolar product page, Wall Pack Light A-WP 60-150W, spec table and page text ("replaces 250–400 W HID wall packs"), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S32] Auvolar product page, Wall Pack Light AN-FWP100/150, spec table ("Full Cut-off"; wet locations), fetched 2026-10-09
• [S33] Auvolar product page, Wall Pack Light AN-FWP02-30W/60W, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S34] Auvolar product page, Adjustable Flood Light A-FL, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S35] Auvolar product page, Flood Light AN-TSFL, spec table and "Wet location", fetched 2026-10-09
• [S36] Auvolar product page, LED Bollard Light A-B Series, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S37] Auvolar product page, LED Security Light AN-SCL24W, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S38] Auvolar product page, Microwave Sensor A-SN09VR-MS-Z10, spec table, fetched 2026-10-09
• [S39] Auvolar product page, Photocell, spec table (120 V) and page text (100–277 V and 277–480 V versions; "if photocell fails, lights default to ON"), fetched 2026-10-08
• [S40] Sylvania product data, 64321 M400/PS/U, 400 W METALARC PULSE START metal halide: approx. lumens initial 31,000 (horizontal) / 36,000 (vertical), mean 22,400 / 25,500; warm-up 2–4 min; hot restrike 5–7 min — text extracted 2026-10-08 (stage0/content-audit/data/sylvania-64321.txt)
• [S41] Auvolar company facts (src/lib/company-facts.ts, ruling 2026-09-20): SHIPPING_FULL wording; no warranty figure is reproduced on this page (ruling 2026-10-09: no uniform warranty claim)