Made in Auburn, CA
Made in the USA since 1993. Over 32 years of fixture engineering.
BAA and BABA Compliant
Federal-ready procurement for GSA, USACE, Department of Defense, and state DOTs.
7-Year Factory Warranty
Full coverage on driver, LEDs, and housing. 100,000-hour L70 rated.
1st Source Lighting offers LED Cold Storage Lighting for dependable performance in extreme environments. Increase productivity with significant energy savings and lower maintenance costs. We have fixture options that are made in the USA and are BAA Compliant. Ideal for Cold and freezer storage for in distribution facilities, manufacturing, production, pharmaceutical and food processing. One of the most significant benefits of LED cold storage lighting lies in its energy efficiency. It’s remarkable to note that LED lights consume approximately 60-70% less energy than Legacy Technology and can be about 50% more efficient than fluorescent.
In standard lighting applications, heat is the enemy. But in cold storage, “Freeze-Out” is the killer. Generic LED fixtures fail in blast freezers not because the diode dies, but because the driver topology cannot survive the thermodynamics of a “Cold Start.”
At 1st Source Lighting, we engineer our cold storage fixtures to exploit the physics of the environment rather than fight them.
The Negative Thermal Coefficient: Unlike HID or Fluorescent lamps that lose up to 50% of their lumen output due to mercury vapor pressure drops in the cold, our LEDs exhibit a negative thermal coefficient. As the p-n junction temperature drops, the probability of non-radiative recombination decreases and bandgap expansion occurs. The result? Our LEDs naturally become 5-10% more efficient and brighter in a -20°F freezer than on a test bench.
Solid-State Driver Topology: The weak link in a freezer is the electrolytic capacitor. In generic drivers, the liquid electrolyte inside the capacitor becomes viscous at -20°F, causing the Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) to spike. This prevents the driver from handling the inrush current, leading to strobing or catastrophic failure. We utilize Solid Conductive Polymer Capacitors and low-temperature driver architectures that maintain a flat ESR curve down to -40°F, ensuring instant ignition every time.
Application: Vaccine Storage, Pharmaceutical Cold Rooms, Biotech Labs.
Lumen Output: Up to 24,000 Lumens
Distribution: Standard Polycarbonate Diffused Lens
Mounting: Cable/Chain, Surface, or Pendant Mount. Custom Options Available
Warranty: 5-Year Warranty
Compliance: Manufactured to NSF P442 Protocol (Certification Pending). CSA Rated
The Engineering Difference: In ISO Class cleanrooms, maintaining air pressure differentials is critical. Standard troffers “breathe” through the ceiling plenum, allowing air bypass that compromises the room’s sterility and pressure. Finding fixtures that can truly hold a seal is a major sourcing challenge for facility engineers.
Our Solution: We manufacture our Sealed Face Troffers strictly to the NSF P442 standard. While official certification is currently pending approval, these fixtures are engineered to meet the rigorous Pressure Decay Test, designed to hold a seal against positive/negative pressure (2 inches water column) with zero leakage.
Application: High-Rack Cold Storage, Distribution Centers, Blast Freezers.
Lumen Output: Up to 44,000 Lumens
Distribution: Standard Polycarbonate Lens or Narrow Aperture Lens for Aisle Lighting
Mounting: Cable/Chain, Surface, or Pendant Mount. Custom Options Available
Warranty: 5-Year Warranty
Compliance: CSA Rated
Origin: Made in USA.
The Engineering Difference: In a blast freezer, moisture sublimates and freezes instantly on cold surfaces. Standard high bays with heat sink fins act as “ice traps,” accumulating heavy frost that insulates the fixture.
Our Solution: The 1st Source Cold Linear High Bay is tailored for ultra-high performance without the risk of ice buildup. It features a Smooth, Aerodynamic Housing to shed external frost, engineered with a specific porosity level that allows internal moisture to exit the housing freely. This “breathing” design prevents condensation buildup, while the independent IP66-rated driver ensures the power supply remains completely protected from ingress.
Remote-Driver Configuration for Deep Freeze and Blast Freezer Walk-Ins: For the most demanding cold storage applications, the Cold Linear High Bay is available in remote-driver configuration with the LED light engine inside the freezer envelope and driver electronics housed in a separate enclosure outside the conditioned space. This configuration eliminates the cumulative thermal stress that ends in-fixture driver life over thousands of cold cycles, extending driver service life to match the LED light engine and eliminating one or more rounds of fixture replacement across the facility’s operating life. Engineered for the specific facility geometry during photometric layout. Read more in our pharmaceutical cold storage lighting guide.
Application: Food Processing Lines, Beverage Production, Industrial Warehouses/Manufacturing, Cold Storage/Walking Freezers, Car Washes, Covered Outdoor Areas, Chemical Sanitation Zones.
Lumen Output: Up to 40,000 Lumens
Distribution: Wide Range Of Lens Options
Mounting: Cable/Chain, Surface, or Pendant Mount. Custom Options Available
Warranty: 5-Year Warranty
Compliance: Up to IP69, DLC Premium Listed, UL Listed, NSF International Certified for Food Service Environments.
The Engineering Difference: In food safety environments, ingress protection is the first line of defense against contamination. Generic IP65 or IP66 fixtures often fail under the thermal shock of daily sanitation, allowing moisture to breach the seal and breed bacteria. Furthermore, while many competitors market the automotive-derived IP69K rating, stationary facility equipment requires the specific rigor of the IEC IP69 standard to ensure long-term reliability against direct high-pressure washdowns.
Our Solution: We engineer our Vapor Tight Series to exceed the industry’s toughest hygiene standards. With configurations available up to IP69, these fixtures are hermetically sealed to withstand high-temperature, high-pressure steam cleaning without water ingress. 1 Compliant with NSF/ANSI 2 Food Equipment standards, the sleek, continuous-pour gasketed design eliminates bacterial harborage points, making this the versatile, fail-safe choice for a wide range of applications—from sub-zero storage to high-heat commercial kitchens. The complete IP rating framework including why IP67 is generally inferior to IP66 for washdown environments, the IP69 versus IP69K distinction for stationary equipment, and zone-by-zone specification recommendations is covered in our guide on IP66, IP67, IP69, and IP69K ratings in cold storage and washdown environments.
In a refrigerated environment, you pay for electricity twice: once to power the light, and again to remove the heat it generates.
The Calculation: Removing 1,000 Watts of heat load (approx. 6 HID fixtures replaced with LED) removes 3,412 BTUs/hr from the space.
Impact: This effectively “adds” tons of refrigeration capacity back to your system without buying a new compressor, extending the lifespan of your cooling equipment.
For the complete engineering math behind the multiplier, worked retrofit examples across temperature zones, and why energy-only payback models systematically understate cold storage returns, read our deep dive on the refrigeration multiplier in cold storage LED lighting.
Many facilities are limited by their compressor capacity.
The Calculation: Removing 1,000 Watts of heat load (approx. 6 HID fixtures replaced with LED) removes 3,412 BTUs/hr from the space.
Impact: This effectively “adds” tons of refrigeration capacity back to your system without buying a new compressor, extending the lifespan of your cooling equipment.
Maintenance in a -20°F freezer is exponentially more expensive than ambient environments.
Lift Equipment: Battery-electric scissor lifts lose ~50% of their charge capacity and hydraulic fluid thickens in the cold, causing sluggish operation.
Labor Efficiency: Technicians require mandatory “warm-up breaks” (often 15 minutes per hour), increasing labor costs by 25% or more.
Solution: Our fixtures are rated for 100,000+ hours (L70), virtually eliminating lighting maintenance for a decade.
Standard energy audits only look at the light bill. We calculate the Total Thermal Cost, combining direct electrical draw with the refrigeration penalty required to remove the waste heat
The Scenario: A standard retrofit of 20 legacy HID fixtures compared to 20 1st Source Cold Storage High Bays, operating 24/7.
The Breakdown: Legacy systems consume over $13,500 annually at an electrical cost of $0.15/kwh in combined electrical and thermal costs, whereas our LED solution drops this operational expense to just $5,187.
The Bottom Line: Upgrading just 20 fixtures generates $8,389 in annual positive cash flow, paying for the system in under 18 months before even factoring in the eliminated maintenance costs.
For the complete cost ranges across cold storage facility types, the five-driver financial model used in capital review, federal funding pathways including the June 30, 2026 Section 179D deadline, and BAA/BABA compliance documentation, see our cold storage LED retrofit guide.
Don’t guess with your capital budget. We use professional-grade AGi32 modeling to validate light levels, verify rack visibility, and minimize fixture lumens per watt to reduce thermal load.
Standard energy audits only look at the light bill. We calculate the Total Thermal Cost, combining direct electrical draw with the refrigeration penalty required to remove the waste heat
The Scenario: A standard retrofit of 28 legacy HID fixtures compared to 28 1st Source Cold Storage High Bays.
The Breakdown: Legacy systems consume over $13,500 annually at an electrical cost of $0.15/kwh in combined electrical and thermal costs, whereas our LED solution drops this operational expense to just $5,187.
The Bottom Line: Upgrading to a 1 to 1 fixture ratio generates $8,389 in annual positive cash flow, paying for the system in under 18 months before even factoring in the eliminated maintenance costs.
Target: 5-15 Average Vertical Foot-Candles | Optic: 60° Narrow Beam
Analysis: This layout utilizes narrow-beam optics to punch light from 40ft down to the floor without wasting lumens on the top of the racking. Note the uniformity along the vertical face of the rack, ensuring forklift operators can scan codes at any height without “zebra striping” shadows.
Target: 30 Horizontal Foot-Candles | Optic: 120° Wide Beam
Analysis: In high-traffic staging zones, safety is paramount. We utilize wide-beam distribution to eliminate shadows between pallets and forklifts. This layout validates adequate light levels for inspection and paperwork while transitioning from the dark freezer to the bright dock.
Target: 50-70 Foot-Candles | Optic: Diffused
Analysis: Sanitation lines requires high visibility to spot debris. This simulation validates that our IP67 Vapor Tights provide high CRI illumination for quality control while illuminating the geometry of conveyor belts and processing equipment.
We engineer every layout to meet or exceed IES RP-7-17 standards.
| Application Area | Recommended Foot-Candles (fc) | Critical Design Factor |
| Active Cold Storage / Racking | 30 fc | Rack Face Visibility & Glare Control |
| Inactive / Bulk Storage | 10 – 30 fc | Energy Savings / Motion Sensing |
| Loading Dock / Staging | 30 – 50 fc | Safety / Transition Adaptation |
| Processing / Inspection | 50 – 70 fc | Color Rendering (CRI) / Detail |
