Two quotes for the same wattage can be two completely different orders. One arrives at the voltage your panel actually runs, with the certification mark your inspector checks and a stated lead time. The other arrives with a spec sheet that never mentions ambient temperature. Both said "150 W high bay." The nine questions below are the ones an LED high bay distributor should be able to answer before you place the order, not after the pallet is on the dock. If you are still sizing the fixture itself, work through the high bay buying guide first, then come back here for the procurement side. Everything in the high bay and low bay category is quoted against these same questions.
1. Which certification marks does the fixture carry?
Ask for the compliance block on the spec sheet, not a general statement that the product is "certified." The compliance block names the standards the fixture was tested to and, for a hazardous-area fixture, the exact Class, Division, and Group it is listed for. The Q1A low bay spec sheet, for example, lists UL 844 for hazardous locations and UL 1598 for luminaires alongside its Class I, Division 2 (Groups A, B, C, D), Class II, Division 1 and 2, and Class III ratings.
That matters in Canada specifically. For hazardous installations, CSA listing is what inspection accepts, and a UL listing on its own is not sufficient. Our classification guide covers how to read the Class, Division, Group, and T-code line on a nameplate so you can check the fixture against your area drawing yourself instead of taking a sales claim on faith.
2. Can I see the spec sheet before I get a price?
A distributor that publishes spec sheets is a distributor whose numbers you can check. Every product page here carries a downloadable spec sheet, and you can pull it before you ever speak to anyone. If a supplier will only send documentation after you commit, treat that as an answer in itself.
Read four things on the sheet before you compare prices. Efficacy in lumens per watt, because that is what makes wattage alone misleading. The ambient temperature range, because a fixture rated to +40°C and one rated to +65°C are not the same product. The IP and IK ratings, because that is your dust, water, and impact protection. And the warranty term, because it is stated on the sheet rather than negotiated later. Everything in this category ships IP65 or IP66 rated in a die-cast or copper-free aluminum housing, but the exact rating belongs to the specific fixture, not the line.
3. Which input voltage is this fixture built for?
This is the question most often skipped, and it is the one that turns a delivery into a return. Canadian industrial buildings run 347 V far more often than US spec sheets assume, and the voltage band is set by the ordering code at the factory, not by a switch in the field.
The UFO-C high bay is available in 100 to 277 V and 120 to 347 V. The Q1/Q2 high bay family covers 120 to 277 V, 120 to 347 V, and 200 to 480 V, again selected at ordering. Tell your distributor the panel voltage at the circuit feeding the fixtures, not the building service, and ask them to confirm the voltage character in the catalogue number on the quote. If the quote does not show the full ordering code, ask for it.
4. Can one model cover more than one ceiling height?
Field-adjustable power is a stocking decision as much as a lighting one. A fixture whose wattage can be set in the field lets one catalogue number cover several mounting heights, which cuts the number of SKUs you carry and the number of times you order the wrong one.
The UFO-C runs 100 W to 300 W at up to 170 lm/W with field-adjustable power and tunable colour temperature. The Q1/Q2 family covers 20 W to 200 W at up to 160 lm/W, with four driver-cover options that set the mounting method: ceiling, pendant, surface, wall, or 25° stanchion. Between them they cover the 20 ft to 45 ft ceiling range that most warehouses and plants sit in. Ask what the adjustment steps actually are, since a three-gear power dial and a fully tunable driver are not the same thing.
5. What ambient temperature is it rated for at my mounting point?
Ambient rating is a printed number on a spec sheet, not a marketing adjective. Ask for it, and ask for it at the wattage you are ordering, because the rating usually drops as wattage climbs on the same fixture family.
Measure at the fixture location rather than using the room's general temperature. Ceilings above process equipment, kilns, ovens, and furnace bays run far hotter than the floor. If the measured ambient is above what the standard line is rated for, that is a different product, not an upgrade of the same one. The high-temperature lighting line is built for that case, and the high-temperature buyer guide explains how a real ambient rating is tested and verified.
6. Is the area classified, and does the fixture match?
If any part of the space is a classified area on your drawing, a standard industrial high bay is not legal there regardless of how well it is built. Send your area-classification drawing with the enquiry, not a description of the process.
Paint booths, solvent storage, and fuel handling typically fall under Class I, Division 2, which is the most common hazardous rating tied to high bay fixtures. Those go to the Class I, Division 2 high bay and low bay range instead. Combustible dust in grain, coal, or metal-powder handling is a Class II question. A distributor should ask you for the classification before quoting, and should decline to quote a standard fixture into a classified zone.
7. What are the price and the lead time, on the same document?
A price without a lead time is half a quote. Ask for both on the same page so procurement can plan the install date against the delivery date instead of chasing a second email.
Quotes here come back within 24 hours, with pricing and lead times stated on the quote. When you send the enquiry, include the fixture count, the voltage, the mounting method, and the delivery address, because a partial enquiry is what turns a one-day quote into a week of back-and-forth. If the project ships in phases, say so at enquiry stage, since staged delivery is easier to build into an order than to add to one.
8. What does the warranty actually cover?
Ask three things: the term, what the term is measured against, and what the remedy is. The high bay families in this category carry a five-year standard warranty, and the UFO-C is rated for 50,000 hours of service life.
The second question is the one buyers miss. Some warranties are stated against a duty cycle, so a five-year term at twelve hours a day can become a shorter term on a line that runs around the clock. If your plant runs continuous shifts, confirm which term applies to your operating hours before you compare two warranties as if they were equal. Ask what the remedy is as well, since replacement fixture, replacement driver, and credit are three different outcomes.
9. Can you run the layout instead of estimating the fixture count?
Any supplier can multiply floor area by a rule of thumb. A distributor that will run the photometric calculation against your building is telling you the fixture count is defensible.
Send building dimensions, mounting height, aisle width, and rack height through the photometric layout request and you get back fixture count, spacing, and a point-by-point light-level plan rather than an estimate. That plan is also what you hand to whoever signs off on the project, and it is what tells you whether a lower fixture count with a higher lumen package beats the layout you assumed.
The short version
Before you send an enquiry to any LED high bay distributor, have this ready: mounting height, panel voltage, ambient temperature at the fixture, area classification if any, fixture count or floor dimensions, mounting method, and your required delivery date. Ask for the spec sheet, the full ordering code, the lead time, and the warranty term on the quote itself. Send the project with those in hand and the first quote should be usable.
Common questions
What is the difference between an LED high bay distributor and a manufacturer? A distributor sources certified fixtures from vetted product partners, holds the specification and documentation for each one, and matches products to your site conditions and code requirements. That means you compare across product families rather than being steered to a single factory's range, and the certification, spec sheet, and warranty terms still come from the fixture's own documentation.
Do I need CSA-listed fixtures, or is UL enough? For hazardous-location installations in Canada, CSA listing is what inspection accepts, and a UL listing on its own is not sufficient. CSA listing is national, so the same listed fixture is accepted in Quebec and Ontario. The provinces differ on inspection process and labelling rather than on the listing itself, which our Quebec and Ontario comparison covers in detail.
Why does 347 V matter when buying high bays in Canada? 347 V is common in Canadian commercial and industrial distribution and rarely appears on a US-default spec sheet. The voltage band is fixed by the ordering code when the fixture is built, so a 100 to 277 V unit cannot simply be rewired on site. Confirm the panel voltage at the circuit feeding the fixtures and check that the catalogue number on your quote reflects it.
How fast should a quote come back? Within one business day for a complete enquiry, with pricing and lead times both stated. What slows a quote down is almost always missing information: no voltage, no mounting height, no classification, or a fixture count with no dimensions behind it. Send those up front and the turnaround is a day.
Can I get a photometric layout before ordering? Yes. Send your building dimensions, mounting height, and aisle or rack layout through the photometric layout request and you receive a computed fixture count, spacing, and light-level plan. It is worth doing before the order rather than after, because the layout often changes the wattage or the fixture count you were planning to buy.
Sources: Product spec sheets for the fixtures referenced above (certification blocks, voltage options, ambient ranges, warranty terms), CEC Section 18 and CSA C22.1 for Canadian hazardous-location listing requirements.
Need a fixture spec'd to your environment? Send the room dimensions, classification, and ambient, we'll come back same day.
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