Lumeitalia

Caricamento

Il caricamento sta impiegando più tempo del previsto.

Torna alla home

Lumeitalia

How demand is changing in warehouse and logistics hub lighting

The requests most often arriving in warehouse and logistics hub lighting projects and what they say about the market.

Corsie di un magazzino con scaffalature alte e illuminazione LED
Corsie di un magazzino con scaffalature alte e illuminazione LED. Immagine illustrativa generata con AI.

Overview

The requests reaching the technical office are a reliable indicator of how the market is changing. In logistics hubs lighting runs almost continuously and must follow narrow aisles, high racking and moving vehicles. This note summarises the trends observed in warehouse and logistics hub lighting projects, with no numerical projections or sector estimates.

Applicable standards

The regulatory reference for warehouse and logistics hub lighting is not a single document but a coordinated set of standards covering performance, safety and environmental impact. In design practice the following documents drive the main choices.

  • EN 12464-1 — requirements for storage and picking areas.
  • Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008 — safety in materials handling.
  • EN 1838 — emergency lighting.

What is requested most often

Three requests recur with growing frequency: complete documentation accompanying the supply, guaranteed spare-part availability over a multi-year horizon, and openness of control protocols. These shift attention from product to service and presuppose a long-term supply relationship.

What these requests indicate

They indicate that clients are internalising life-cycle cost in purchasing decisions. The practical consequence is that bid comparison shifts onto documentary and contractual elements, and that specifications must be more precise about what is required and how it will be verified.

In the specific field of warehouse and logistics hub lighting, the greatest sensitivity concerns lighting the rack face, not only the aisle floor: it is the point where clarification requests concentrate during tenders.

Implications for designers and suppliers

For designers it means devoting more space to verification criteria and required documentation; for suppliers it means organising their documentation as part of the product rather than a later formality. Centro Studi Lumeitalia makes its technical office available to review tender documents.

Recurring critical points

The difficulties that most often emerge in warehouse and logistics hub lighting projects are not about product selection, but about defining requirements and verifying results.

  • Lighting the rack face, not only the aisle floor.
  • Avoiding glare for forklift operators.
  • Matching levels between automated and manned areas.

Design approach

An orderly method drastically reduces variations during works and disputes at commissioning. Three choices make the difference from the earliest stages.

  • Narrow-distribution optics aligned with the aisle axis.
  • Per-aisle control with dedicated sensors and standby levels.
  • Different requirements for picking, storage and loading docks.

Parameters to verify

  • Vertical illuminance — EN 12464-1 — label legibility on the rack face
  • Aisle uniformity — EN 12464-1 — continuity along the axis
  • UGR — EN 12464-1 — workstations and driving cabs
  • Emergency — EN 1838 — aisles and exits

Most frequent mistakes

Non-conformities found at commissioning almost always come from three causes: requirements not declared or declared without a reference standard, calculation run on idealised geometry, and an optimistic maintenance factor. All three can be avoided at zero cost during design.

Key takeaways

A warehouse and logistics hub lighting project holds up over time when requirements are declared, the calculation reproduces real conditions and on-site verification follows an agreed protocol. Component selection matters, but comes later: without measurable requirements even the best product delivers a result that cannot be demonstrated. Centro Studi Lumeitalia makes its technical office available to review requirements and design checks.

Methodological note: This content is written for technical information purposes by Centro Studi Lumeitalia and does not replace the lighting design or a full reading of the standards cited. Applicable performance values are those of the standards in force at design time.

Domande frequenti

Why does vertical illuminance matter in a warehouse?+

Because operators read codes and labels on the rack face, a vertical surface: an installation optimised only for the floor does not solve the visual task.

Are per-aisle sensors reliable with forklifts?+

Yes, if hold times and overlap zones are designed for vehicle speed, avoiding late switch-on.

Where should a warehouse and logistics hub lighting project start?+

From a written definition of performance requirements and verification conditions: this step drives every later choice and makes the result either disputable or defensible at commissioning.

Which documents should be requested from the supplier?+

Photometric files of the proposed luminaires, declaration of conformity, lifetime data declared per IES LM-80 with its conditions, the maintenance schedule and warranty terms.