Oct 02, 2026 / By the Lumibox team / in Commercial Lighting
Choosing commercial LED lighting for a building in Quebec is a different job from lighting a house. Ceilings are higher, many circuits run at 347 V, fixtures must run for years with little maintenance, and emergency lighting has to pass inspection. This guide is for the people who place the order: contractors, electricians, property managers and facility teams buying commercial lighting in Canada. It covers warehouse LED lighting, office LED lighting, parking lot LED lighting, emergency and exit systems, 347 V LED fixtures, 0-10 V dimming, sensors, certifications and how to plan a commercial LED retrofit.
Most commercial LED retrofit projects start because the old fluorescent or HID fixtures are failing or the space is too dark.
This is the most common mistake in commercial lighting orders. In Quebec, many commercial and industrial buildings are served at 347/600 V, so the lighting circuits run at 347 V, not 120 V or 277 V. A 120-277 V fixture connected to 347 V fails.
| Voltage | Typical buildings | Driver to look for |
|---|---|---|
| 120 V | Small shops, offices in mixed-use buildings | 120 V or 120-277 V |
| 277 V | Large buildings on a 277/480 V service (less common in Quebec) | 120-277 V |
| 347 V | Warehouses, plants, schools, arenas, office towers, big-box retail on 347/600 V: very common in Quebec | 347 V, 120-347 V or 277-480 V |
| 480 V | Industrial sites with 480 V distribution | 277-480 V |
The rule: check the panel before you order, then filter for 347 V LED fixtures or, better, universal 120-347 V drivers. In the LumiBox catalogue, UFO high bays, linear high bays, 2x2 and 2x4 panels, strip lights, wall packs, canopy lights and emergency units all exist in 120-347 V, and several high bays in 277-480 V. The voltage is written in the product title.
Warehouse LED lighting comes down to mounting height and aisle layout. Two families cover almost every case.
UFO LED high bays are round, compact and built for open floors and high ceilings. The UFO LED high bay range runs from 100 W to 300 W, with selectable wattage (100/120/150 W, 150/200/240 W or 240/270/300 W) and selectable CCT (3500 K, 4000 K, 5000 K). Current models reach 135 to 140 lumens per watt, which puts the largest units above 40,000 lumens. Options seen in the titles: 120-347 V or 277-480 V input, 0-10 V dimming, DLC Premium listing, IP65 housings, twist-on motion sensors and integrated emergency batteries.
Linear LED high bays suit racking aisles because the light follows the aisle. The linear LED high bay family comes in 2 ft and 4 ft, 90 W to 300 W, 3CCT (3500/4000/5000 K), wattage-selectable, 120-347 V, up to 45,000 lumens on the largest 4 ft units. A 4 ft vapour-tight model (105 to 180 W, 24,300 lumens, 120-347 V) covers wash-down areas, food plants and car washes.
For lower ceilings, shops and back-of-house corridors, LED linear fixtures do the job: 8 ft strip lights at 60 to 136 W and 9,000 to 21,000 lumens (selectable 3000 to 6500 K, 120-347 V, 0-10 V, DLC listed), 4 ft wrap-arounds at 30/40/50 W with a plug-and-play sensor socket, and 4 ft linear strips at 40/50/60 W up to 7,800 lumens. To keep existing fluorescent housings, LED T8 tubes in 2, 3, 4 and 8 ft (Type A+B or Type B, 120-277 V) convert without opening the ceiling. For HID housings that stay, the UFO category lists EX39 retrofit lamps (135 W and 150 W, 120-277 V) rated to replace up to 400 W HID.
Office LED lighting is about visual comfort: glare control, consistent colour and dimming. The LED panel category covers the three grid sizes, 1x4, 2x2 and 2x4, at 20 to 50 W with wattage and CCT selection (3500/4000/5000 K), 125 lumens per watt on the back-lit series, 120-277 V or 120-347 V input and 0-10 V dimming. Several panels come with an integrated emergency battery (for example a 1x4 at 25/30/35 W and 4,550 lumens).
On drywall ceilings, look at LED troffers and recessed lighting: 2 in architectural downlights with CRI 90, 5CCT (2700 to 5000 K) disk lights and 347 V variants. For reception areas, boardrooms and retail, architectural linear systems with L, T and X connectors (120-347 V, 0-10 V, CCT and wattage variable) draw continuous lines of light.
Parking lot LED lighting must be bright, uniform, vandal-resistant and sealed against Quebec weather.
LED wall packs mount on the building for perimeters, docks and entrances: full cut-off wall packs (no uplight) at 25 to 120 W and 3,350 to 16,080 lumens, adjustable wall packs at 40 to 75 W and 5,200 to 9,750 lumens, and doorway lights at 9 to 15 W with integrated photocell and IP65 polycarbonate lens. Most are 120-347 V, selectable 3000/4000/5000 K, and accept a microwave sensor or photocell; E26 retrofit lamps (20 to 30 W, 120-277 V or 347 V) convert older housings.
LED parking and street lights, the shoeboxes or area lights, go on poles: 60/80/100 W, 150/175/200 W and 200/240/300 W units with maximum outputs of 15,000, 30,000 and 45,000 lumens, CCT and wattage variable, dimmable, 120-347 V. The category also lists 3 in to 6 in pole mounts, 2-3/8 in tenons, twist-lock photocells and solar off-grid area lights.
LED floodlights handle signage, façades, yards and sports fields: 10 W to 500 W (30/50/60 W, 200/240/300 W and 400/450/500 W selectable units), knuckle, trunnion and U-bracket mounts, slip fitters, and sports lights with 22°, 25° and 30° optics for 300 to 900 W heads. For gas stations and covered parkades, LED canopy lights at 20 to 100 W, up to 10,400 lumens, 120-347 V, 0-10 V, motion-ready and DLC Premium listed are the right form factor.
Inspectors look at emergency lighting first. The LED emergency lighting category covers dual-head units (2 W heads, 90 or 120 minute rated duration, 120/277 V or 120-347 V), remote heads at 3.6 to 24 V DC for stairwells and corridors, replacement batteries, emergency drivers for strip lights, and high bays and panels with integrated battery packs.
LED exit signs are mostly running man pictograms, the format used for new installations in Quebec: 1 to 5 W, 120-347 V AC with 6-24 V DC options, edge-lit all-glass models, UL 94V-0 flame-rated housings and combo units with sign, two heads and battery in one body. For placement, duration and testing, read the emergency lighting and exit sign guide for Quebec.
Quebec winters are the real test. Two lines on the spec sheet matter.
| Label | What it tells you | Where to verify |
|---|---|---|
| cUL / CSA / cETL | Tested to Canadian electrical safety standards; inspectors look for a recognized Canadian mark. | Spec sheet and fixture label |
| DLC (DesignLights Consortium) | Performance listing (efficacy, colour quality, lumen maintenance) in Standard and Premium tiers. Several high bays, canopies, strip lights, wall packs and T8 tubes carry a DLC ID in the title. | DLC ID on the spec sheet, searchable on the DLC public list |
| IP rating | Protection against dust and water. | Spec sheet |
Treat these as items to verify per SKU on the PDF spec sheet, not assumptions about a brand.
The LumiBox catalogue carries about 6,300 products from manufacturers such as ARANI, LUMENSTARLED, TUROLIGHT, CANOLIGHT, CSC LED, ORTECH, LIGHT EFFICIENT DESIGN, LED MONTREAL, LITELINE, LUMIFARO, NEXLEDS and SPECLITE, with the manufacturer's SKU in the title so your spec matches your order.
For smaller spaces, the garage and workshop LED lighting guide applies the same lumen and mounting-height logic at residential scale.
The mistakes that come back most often: ordering 120-277 V for a 347 V building; matching wattage instead of lumens; mixing 4000 K and 5000 K on one floor; pairing a 0-10 V driver with a TRIAC dimmer; buying indoor fixtures for unheated spaces; leaving emergency lighting to the end; skipping the spec sheet.
Many commercial and industrial buildings in Quebec are served at 347/600 V, so lighting circuits run at 347 V; smaller buildings run at 120 V. Confirm at the panel and choose 347 V or universal 120-347 V LED fixtures when in doubt.
No. A 120-277 V driver connected to 347 V fails. Choose a fixture whose title states 347 V, 120-347 V or 277-480 V, depending on your service.
Start from an IES-based footcandle target, multiply by floor area, apply a light-loss factor and divide by each fixture's delivered lumens. Mounting height and aisle layout then decide between UFO and linear high bays; a photometric layout gives the final count.
0-10 V dimming uses two low-voltage control wires between the driver and a 0-10 V dimmer, sensor or building system. A residential TRIAC dimmer chops line voltage and will not control a 0-10 V driver. Most commercial LED panels, high bays and strip lights use 0-10 V.
Not by law. DLC is a performance listing that some specifications require. If yours calls for DLC Standard or Premium, verify the DLC ID on the spec sheet. Electrical safety listing (cUL, CSA or cETL) is a separate requirement that inspectors check on every fixture.
Yes. Send the list of SKUs and quantities, or the fixture schedule from your drawings, through the contact page. You receive a quotation per line with availability confirmed, and the PDF spec sheets are on each product page.
