What is high bay lighting and low bay lighting?

Luminaires are frequently classified by their application, such as residential, commercial, or industrial. But nevertheless, a particular type of luminaire can often be used in multiple applications, depending upon its performance characteristics. This type of luminaire is high/low bay lights. The high bay and low bay lights got their names in the construction of industrial or commercial facilities where a skeletal framework is used to form an interior subspace known as a "bay". In the lighting industry, the term "bay" has evolved to cover almost any large area to be lit. Many industrial and commercial buildings have the challenge of illuminating large areas from standard height and in many cases from higher than normal ceilings. These high bay or low bay spaces are commonly found in large indoor facilities which includes factories, warehouses, large retail stores, athletic facilities or gymnasiums, etc. High bay applications usually have a mounting height between 20 and 40 feet above the floor. Low bay luminaires are typically designed to deliver adequate vertical illumination for spaces with mounting heights that are less than about 20 feet. They're are typically mounted in close proximity to each other. However, high bay luminaires may also be employed at lower mounting heights to produce light distributions that vary from narrow to wide, based on the application and the need for vertical illumination. High bay applications frequently have environments that are mostly more harsh and corrosive than low bay applications. Specifically, high bay environments can have more airborne dust and oil particulates. Low bay luminaires are used in less demanding environments and tend to be visual attractively designed to match modern indoor decors in some commercial lighting applications.