400w Metal Halide LED Replacement for Warehouse High Bays

sRecently one of our customers needed to replace multiple 400w metal halide high bay fixtures with LED high bay fixtures. The 400w metal halide (MH) high bays were in a 100′ x 200′ shipping warehouse. The MH lighting was old and many of the fixtures didn’t work. The customer wanted to purchase LED lighting that would be more efficient than their previous fixtures. Access Fixtures was able to step in, provide photometric data, and provide the customer with new LED fixtures at a lower cost and higher efficiency level than before. Read on to find out how we did it!

Problems With 400w Metal Halides

The customer had numerous problems with his current 400w metal halide fixtures.

One of the biggest problems was frequent ballast failure. Each time a ballast failure occurred, the customer would have to call an electrician to fix it. With 25′ ceilings in the warehouse, this quickly became time consuming and expensive.

Another major issue was cost to run the fixtures. The MH lights used a lot of electricity, a whopping 460 system watts per luminaire. Even worse, MH lights suffer rapid lumen depreciation. Over a short timeframe metal halide lights emit less light.

The last major problem that the customer was concerned about was the risk of nonpassive failure. Nonpassive failure is a spontaneous explosion  that can happen to metal halide lamps. This rains hot glass on everything in the vicinity and the risk of this happening was just too large for the customer to take.

A Better Solution for 400w Metal Halide LED Replacement

One of the customer’s main concerns was the lack of efficiency of their current lighting. 400w metal halide lamps emit about 36,000 initial lumens and 24,000 mean (average) lumens. As stated previously, our customer’s current 400 watt metal halide system uses about 460 system watts per luminaire, which uses a lot of power!

Access Fixtures lighting specialists determined that the lowest cost, most high performance luminaire that would fit this customer’s application was a HIIO LED high bay.  The HIIO specifically recommended was the HIIO Selectable 200w/240w/300w. 

Selectable Wattage:  HIIO Selectable 200w/240w/300w features selectable wattage. Once installed, the customer, with the flick of a switch on the fixture, could set the fixture at 200 watts, 240 watts, or 300 watts. HIIO Selectable 200w/240w/300w can be set to emit 26,000 lumens, 31,200 lumens, or 39,000 lumens. No guessing here. The customer gets the amount of light that the customer wants. 

Occupancy and Daylighting Sensor: Using an optional plug-and-play module HIIO Selectable 200w/240w/300w can be equipped with a programmable occupancy sensor and daylighting too. The occupancy sensor steps down the wattage when nobody seems to be in the area and shuts the light off after a while. When someone is back in the area, the light is instantly on at the programmed light level desired. Wow!

The daylighting part of the plug-and-play module checks for the light level if the light were to turn off. if there is daylight in the area, the module will dim the light or shut it off saving even more energy. Again, if needed, the HIIO LED high bay light will go back to the programmed/preferred light level. 

IP65 Rating: Going back to basics, all HIIO LED high bay fixtures boast an IP65 rating which means it is suitable for dusty, damp, or wet locations.  An IP65 rating means that the fixture is protected against multi-directional, low-pressure water jets. In other words, customers have the ability to hose them off or blast off dust with an air compressor if need be. 

Safer: HIIO, being LED, does not suffer from the risk of nonpassive failure, which means no raining shards of glass or fire to worry about!

Higher CRI: With a CRI of 70+, HIIO has better color rendering than a traditional metal halide fixture.

Endless On and Off Cycles: In contrast to traditional metal halide fixtures, the HIIO can handle endless on and off cycles. Metal halides take time to heat up before they reach full brightness and their ballasts are damaged by turning them on and off too many times. LED drivers are digital rather than combustion-based, so they can handle being turned on and off without any damage.

400w Metal Halide LED Replacement Efficiency Benefits

Energy use dropped by 50% 

• The current 400 watt MH system used 460 system watts per luminaire
• HIIO Selectable 200w/240w/300w set at 200 watts uses 200 watts 
• HIIO Selectable 200w/240w/300w reduces wattage by 260 watts/luminaire 
• Energy use will drop by about 57% before employing occupancy controls
• Occupancy and daylighting controls will provide additional energy savings

To run this photometric, we used 16 HIIO 240s in 2 rows of 8 on the ceiling. You can download the complete photometric analysis in the link to the right. The overall result was a happier customer with more efficient lighting that will save them money in the long run.

Need A Photometric Analysis?

Are you interested in replacing old metal halide high bays with new LED models? Are you looking for a 400w metal halide LED replacement? Are you unsure of how many to purchase and what fixture would be an appropriate one-to-one replacement? We suggest ordering a photometric analysis. A photometric analysis is a computerized simulation of the area that needs to be lit, run with fixtures that Access Fixtures manufactures and sells. This simulation is then delivered to you as a report that can help you choose lighting for your next project. For general questions, call 800-468-9925 or email [email protected].