Buyer's Guide to Outdoor Wall Packs

The term 'wall pack' describes outdoor lighting that is usually installed on the exterior walls of buildings. Wall-mounted lamps are often used to provide large areas of lighting for ground areas with heavy traffic. But they also work well to provide owners with an extra layer of security.

Wall packs are often seen on the exterior walls of commercial and industrial buildings to provide general and safe lighting for external sites. This type of lighting is the most common commercial outdoor lighting solution.

If you own or manage any type of commercial facility with wall-pack lighting, chances are they use some type of high-intensity bulb, such as a metal halide lamp or a high-pressure sodium lamp. The reason for this is that high-intensity bulbs are bright, which makes them perfect in terms of both safety and security. The problem with this is that these bulbs burn out quickly, consuming a lot of energy.

Here are 9 DOS and don 'ts for choosing the right outdoor wall bread.

1. Look at the lumens. Forget Watts.

If you've purchased any type of lighting in the past, your biggest concern is probably the wattage. However, wattage is not the best point of comparison when you switch to leds. This is because watts are a measure of energy consumption, and leds are designed to be energy efficient. Leds can produce brightness comparable to existing HID lamps while consuming much less energy.

With this information in mind, the best way to find an LED lamp with a similar light output to an existing fixture is to pay attention to lumens. Lumens are the actual measurement of light output and are therefore the best way to determine brightness.

Why is LED lumen more important than LED wattage?
Lumens tell you the amount of visible light produced by a light bulb or fixture. An LED bulb, or any similar bulb, that emits more lumens looks brighter than a bulb that produces less lumens.

Unlike tiles, you can compare lumens from different products. It is well known that using leds requires less lumens than other light sources because:

LED lights are directional.
LED lights are of higher quality.
LED light decays much more slowly than traditional light sources.

2. Turn the lights on and off using the motion sensor

Motion sensors are often overlooked in commercial lighting because facility managers can turn lights on and off when they leave.

But they shouldn't. Switching to LED lighting is a great way to cut energy costs, and motion sensors are an easy way to achieve even greater savings. However, not all types of lighting work well with motion sensors. Fortunately, leds can.

Leds are instantly on and instantly off. Unlike other types of lights, it does not require a 'warm-up' time to reach full brightness. It works perfectly with the motion sensor.
Leds are dimmable. So, you can choose to dim the lights or turn them off completely.
Do you need to turn the lights on 100% at 3am?

3. Use photocell sensors with wall packs

The photocell is an automatic switch. They turn on the lights at dusk and turn them off at dawn. They do this by using daylight sensing photocells to determine if supplemental light is needed.

No need for a timer. No need to be alone in the room. Photocells can adapt themselves to day and night. Turning on lights only when you need them and turning them off when you don't will lower your utility bills and reduce your maintenance costs. Coupled with motion sensors and LED lighting, photocells can help you save energy to the next level.

4. Make sure the wall wrap is wet

Wall wrap cannot be installed indoors. If you are looking for large indoor lighting for a commercial facility, we recommend using high slot lights or store lights. But if you're looking for outdoor lighting, they're a great option.

As with any type of outdoor lighting, they need to withstand harsh environments. This includes exposure to rain, snow, sleet and hail. The lighting components inside the fixture may not work if exposed to moisture, so they need to be moisture-proof.

The wet rating can be found by looking for the IP rating on the product specification sheet. Make sure it is rated IP65 to IP68. IP65 is sufficient for normal weather conditions, but IP68's lights can be completely submerged in water.

5. Why is efficacy (lumens per watt) important

Light efficiency is a measure of the efficiency of a light bulb. It specifies the number of lumens produced per watt of electricity consumed. Leds are more efficient and light efficient than traditional bulbs. Although, in general, high-quality leds have a high efficiency level. When comparing LED lights to other types of bulbs, a higher power rating is also one of the reasons wattage is not the best way to evaluate them.

While leds with higher efficiency are more expensive to start with, they are also more efficient than other leds (and more efficient than other types of lighting). And, thanks to this higher efficiency, you'll see even more savings on your energy costs. So, while the initial investment is a bit steep, you'll make your money back faster.

6. Select the right voltage

Does your device have high voltage, 277V to 480V? Fortunately, high voltage drivers are available for these installations. Constant current drives handle everything from 100 volts to 480 volts.

100V-277V - The most common standard voltage
277V-480V - High voltage (optional upgrade)

7. Color temperature options

We briefly discussed color temperature above, but now we'll get into more detail. Color temperature Measures the hue of a light source in Kelvin. The Kelvin scale (shown on the right) is a method of color temperature measurement.

Low color temperature bulbs produce warm light (red, orange, and yellow spectra). And those with a high color temperature produce cold light (in the blue and white spectrum).

90% of the outdoor lighting we sell is 5000K and the other 10% is 4000K. Both are good choices for outdoor wall wraps.

8. Light quality (CRI) and its relationship with outdoor lighting

We also mentioned that leds have a higher color rendering index than other bulbs. What is an international radio station? Well, the color rendering index is a measure of how well a light source shows the color of an object compared to sunlight (the ideal light source).

When it comes to HID lights, the most common complaint is one thing: light color. While we consider poor life and rapidly deteriorating lumen output to be their biggest challenges, poor color quality is the most obvious.

Light colors are important in all applications, especially outdoor applications. It has a significant impact on contrast and sharpness, which is important for both safety and security. Most of the Wall Pack lamps we offer are between CRI 70 and 85, but we can make special orders for any CRI you may need.

9. Light pollution

In simple terms, this means inappropriate and excessive artificial light. Light pollution has a negative impact on the natural environment and can damage the surrounding ecosystem. Leds are easy to make to meet dark sky standards, which helps combat four types of light pollution. Light pollution consists of four components that may overlap or mix.

Light intrusion: Light falls where it is not needed or intended. It goes beyond the boundaries of a particular region.
Glare: Excessive bright light causes visual discomfort. Too much glare can affect visibility.
Sky light: Artificial light is produced upward, illuminating the night sky.
Light clutter: Too many bright and confusing combinations of light sources. This usually occurs in urban areas with excessive lighting. Light clutter can cause skylight, glare, or light intrusion.
Many areas have certain requirements for light pollution. Especially in urban areas, it is important to observe dark skies. Consider using full or semi-cut-off devices in these applications.