Canopy Lights Offer Safety and Business Benefits for Your Metal Buildings

The best metal building accessories are those that create safer environments, encourage efficient operations and improve aesthetics — all without a lot of bells and whistles. At Metallic Products, we believe canopy lights rank among the steel building upgrades that really make sense.

The Metallic Products lighted personnel door canopy.

We added lighted personnel door canopies to our product offerings in 2018 in an effort to help an already useful metal building accessory serve its users even better. (And they’ve remained a go-to accessory staple ever since!)

If you’re curious about ways your steel buildings might benefit from canopy lights, what your options are — or even the most cost-effective way to make it happen, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for lighted canopy insights every metal building owner and construction pro should know.

Why Should I Consider Adding Lighted Canopies to My Metal Building?

Lighted canopies have the distinct privilege of offering all the benefits of a traditional door canopy, with additional safety perks on top. To begin with, your standard personnel door canopy offers a number of benefits for your business, building and the people who frequent it. These include:

• Protection from the sun, rain, snow and other elements
• Cleaner, less slippery walkways and entryways
• Added aesthetic interest, thanks to design and color options
• Lower energy costs and more comfortable interiors due to shading around doors and windows
• Healthier heating and cooling systems, thanks to coverage and blocked debris

By adding LED canopy lights, you’re simply taking a product that’s already serving you well, and building on those benefits with improved safety. There are two key components that come into play with lighted door canopies.

• Lighted Canopies Offer Improved Safety After Dark: These steel building accessories are a great addition to doors on platforms and on top of stairs, especially in areas prone to bad weather. They provide a safe place to pause and fish keys out of pockets or purses, or to stand and wait for a ride. For those with doors at the tops of stairs, the lights help protect against slips and falls, especially in wet or icy conditions.
• Lighted Canopies Deter Theft: A well-lit door is far less likely to be the target of a break-in than a dark one. Plus, greater visibility means less likelihood of suspicious activity, loitering and lurking. The lighted canopy is a little touch that goes a long way toward diminishing your building’s risk of becoming a target.

Metallic Products Tip: If you’re interested in learning more about the shading benefits your metal building canopies offer, check out this issue of “Metal Architecture”, where our very own Travis Wendt weighs in on the subject.

Can I Incorporate LED Canopy Lights into My Existing Personnel Door Canopy?

Canopy lights provide added safety benefits for your buildings and people.

Although we can’t speak for every company out there, in many instances the answer is yes! If a company offers a personnel door canopy, they oftentimes will offer retrofit options, too.

At Metallic Products, for instance, you can purchase a traditional door canopy, the lighted version or a light kit to transform the former into the latter. (Don’t worry, installation is easy!) There are a number of reasons you might consider retrofitting your steel buildings with LED canopy lights, as opposed to replacing a non-lighted canopy with a new one. Here are a few of the biggest benefits.

• Retrofits Offer Cost Savings: Because retrofit kits allow you to upgrade what you already have, rather than purchasing an entirely new item, your out-of-pocket expenses are markedly lower. Of course, certain costs — such as the kit itself and, if applicable, shipping and installation — will come into play. But the same is true when purchasing new items.
• Retrofits Offer Less Disruption to Your Day-to-Day: Much of the legwork is already done when it comes to the installation of your retrofit kits. After all, the location’s been selected, the holes have been drilled and elements are largely in place. While, depending on your specific retrofit, new wiring and similar adjustments might enter the mix, installation tends to be quick and easy. And less interruption? That’s always a good thing.
• Retrofits Offer the Dependability of a Known Product: There’s nothing worse than deciding it’s time to replace a product you’ve used — and liked — for a while, only to find that the replacement is subpar. In the case of a retrofit, you’re merely adding onto something you’re already familiar with. Talk about peace of mind!

What Factors Should You Consider When Purchasing a Lighted Canopy?

Take time to ensure your chosen personnel door canopies suit your structure and needs.

As with any product purchase, you’ll want to make sure the canopy you pick suits your structure, environmental considerations and budget. Keep these things in mind when searching for your ideal option.

• Find a Door Canopy That Can Withstand Your Weather: Your lighted canopy will be an extension of your metal building. If your metal building sits in an area regularly hit by frigid conditions or extreme winds, but you add a canopy that isn’t designed to stand up against such conditions, it could lead to big trouble. The simple solution here is to check the product’s design specs. At Metallic Products, our standard lighted canopy options can withstand windspeeds up to 180 mph and snow loads up to 34 psf. Custom ratings are also available upon request.
• Find a Lighted Canopy That’s Built to Last: The canopy is meant to be something of a set-it-and-forget-it kind of building accessory. You don’t want to deal with regular repairs for dim bulbs or lighting that fizzles when rain falls. Metallic Products’ varieties feature LED canopy lights with a lifespan of 50,000 hours, and they’re wet rated to ensure they’ll keep shining for a long, long time — even amid stormy weather. In other words, there’s little to no maintenance required following installation.
• Find a Lighted Canopy That Serves Your Unique Structure: When seeking out lighted canopy options, be sure to find one that won’t just look good on your existing metal building, but will offer the unique protections your building requires. A single-door canopy above a double-door entrance, for instance, will offer subpar protection at best. Meanwhile, color options that don’t blend with the structure itself can serve as an eyesore and have you standing out in all the wrong ways. At Metallic Products, our canopies come in a range of colors, finishes and sizes, and can be customized to suit one-of-a-kind needs.

Canopy lights can go a long way toward creating a safer, more appealing structure overall — and incorporating them is both easy and budget-friendly. If you’re interested in learning more about Metallic Products’ available options, check out our Canopies page. And if you have questions about any of the above information, our metal building accessory pros are always here to help. Feel free to contact the Metallic Products team at any time. We’d love to hear from you!