About LED Flat Panel Lighting
LED Flat Panels have the ability to be mounted either on a flat surface or in an existing drop ceiling, similar to LED troffer lights. When mounted to a flat ceiling, the low profile of these lights makes them unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing, redirecting the focus of the customers and clients to the items being illuminated. They also work great in situations where low ceiling height is a concern, as they take up very little vertical space when mounted to ceilings.
We offer several different shapes, sizes, wattages, color temperatures of flat panel lights to fit a variety of different needs and applications.
Selectable Watts and Color Temperature
One of the benefits of LED lights is their flexibility in design and nearly endless configurations they can be made in. Unlike most of the other LED lighting options on the market, Keystone flat panel lights are individually adjustable for both wattage consumption, lumen output and color temperature. This gives the purchaser as well as the end user a nearly endless array of options, allowing one single fixture option in each physical dimension to be purchased and work for all different types of installations throughout a facility.
In addition to being selectable in wattage, these panels also feature a non-yellowing frosted diffuser lens that allows even light distribution in the area to be lit. This ensures the most efficient use of the lumen output of these fixtures, as well as making them more pleasant for those under them. Powered by Keystone’s legendary drivers, these lights are designed for long term performance. They can be installed in both new construction and in existing applications, with an improvement in lumen output of up to 30% over standard edge-lit panels.
LED Panel Light Sizes
1 x 4 ft. LED Flat Panel - The narrowest of the flat panel options available, these are ideally suited for custom sized applications utilizing both drop ceiling setups as well as surface mount installations. They are especially popular in applications that call for flush mount lighting, and with our surface mounting kit they seamlessly integrate into practically any interior design requirements.
2 x 2 ft. LED Flat Panel - One of the more popular sizes of flat panel lights, these are intended for areas where a square shaped light is desired. They can be mounted in drop ceilings or flush mounted with our surface mount kit specifically designed for them.
2 x 4 ft. LED Flat Panel - The most common size of drop ceiling compatible light fixture, these are used in all types of applications. With both flush mount and drop ceiling installation options, these flat panels are ideal for both traditional offices as well as newer interior design options that utilize stylish flush mount style lighting.
Square LED Panels - Designed to be mounted in either a drop ceiling setup or as a flush mount on finished ceilings, these square panels are solid choices for those looking for stylish and high performance lighting. With a clear diffuser panel for ideal light distribution, they provide pleasant and adjustable lighting output that can be tailored to any situation.
Rectangle LED Panels - By far the most popular type of panel light in existence, rectangle shaped lights are designed specifically for use in drop ceilings and as flush surface mount fixtures. They are adjustable for both color and wattage, making them very flexible for a wide range of different application requirements.
Round LED Panels - For applications where circular style lighting is desired, round flat panel LEDs are the light of choice. These are generally flush surface mounted for commercial interiors that require this style of fixture.
What is The Cost of LED Flat Panel Lights?
The price of LED flat panel lights can fluctuate based on a variety of elements, encompassing the specific model of the fixture, the features it offers, the quality of materials used in its construction, and the brand that produces it.
On a broad scale, basic LED flat panel lights may be priced starting from around $50, while more sophisticated and high-quality models could cost in the hundreds of dollars. It’s important to note that exceptionally low-priced LED flat panel lights, for instance, those priced under $34 per panel might raise questions regarding their performance, durability, and the quality of light they emit.
Our assortment of LED flat panel lights at the store spans a price range from $34.99 to $139.99 per panel contingent on the size, lumen output, and additional features of the fixture, ensuring options to cater to a wide array of lighting needs and preferences.
LED Flat Panel Light Applications
LED flat panel lights are versatile lighting solutions that are commonly used across various settings due to their sleek design, efficient lighting, and energy-saving capabilities. Here are some of the most common applications for LED flat panel lights:
Commercial Offices: LED flat panel lights are popular in office settings as they provide bright, uniform light that reduces glare, helping to reduce eye strain for employees.
Educational Institutions: Schools and universities use LED flat panels to create a conducive learning environment. Their even light distribution enhances visibility and concentration.
Healthcare Facilities: Hospitals and clinics prefer LED flat panels because they offer bright and consistent lighting, which is crucial for medical examinations and procedures.
Residential Spaces: In homes, especially in kitchens and living rooms, LED flat panels are used to create a modern and aesthetic look while providing sufficient illumination.
Industrial Settings: Some LED flat panels are designed to be durable and long-lasting, making them suitable for use in warehouses and factories.
Hospitality Industry: Hotels and restaurants use these lights to create a welcoming and comfortable ambiance for guests.
Retail Stores: In retail, these lights help in creating an inviting atmosphere and highlighting products without casting harsh shadows.
Conference Rooms: These lights ensure that meeting spaces are well-lit, creating a conducive environment for presentations and discussions.
Corridors and Hallways: LED flat panels are commonly used in hallways and corridors of commercial buildings and residential complexes, ensuring safe and well-lit passageways.
LED Panel Lights for Healthcare & Hospital Lighting
LED Flat Panel Lights are an ideal lighting solution for healthcare and hospital settings due to their uniform light distribution, ensuring clear visibility for precision tasks. They also offer adjustable brightness and color temperatures, which can be tailored to create a comfortable environment for patients and enhance the wellbeing of both patients and staff. Additionally, their energy efficiency and long lifespan make them a cost-effective and low-maintenance option for facilities that operate around the clock.
To put this in perspective, a study was conducted by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. According to the study,
“The study of tunable LED lighting in healthcare settings is expanding our experience base as we learn more about the response of staff and patients to tunable lighting systems, as well as the effect on energy use. Similar to classroom studies, DOE is focused on analyzing data collected by the lighting system, understanding how occupants use the controls, and identifying opportunities for optimization. DOE seeks to ensure that advanced lighting technologies reach their full potential for energy savings and other benefits, such as improved control and quality.”
LED Panel Light Accessories
Surface Mount Kit for 1'x4' LED Flat Panel: This kit allows for the installation of 1'x4' LED flat panels in locations without suspended ceilings.
Surface Mount Kit for 2'x2' LED Flat Panel: Similar to the 1'x4' kit, this enables the installation of 2'x2' LED flat panels on surfaces without suspended ceilings.
Surface Mount Kit for 2'x4' LED Flat Panel: This kit facilitates the surface mounting of larger 2'x4' LED flat panels.
LED Emergency Driver | Battery Backup for Flat Panels: This accessory provides backup power to the LED panel in the event of a power outage, ensuring continuous illumination.
Dimmer Switch: Allows for the adjustment of light brightness to suit different needs and preferences.
Motion Sensors: These sensors can automatically turn the lights on when motion is detected, and turn them off after a period of inactivity, helping to save energy.
Wire Guards: These provide additional protection to the LED flat panel, particularly in environments where the light might be subject to impact or damage.
Remote Control: Offers the convenience of adjusting brightness and sometimes color temperature without needing to physically interact with the light switch.
Mounting Clips: These are used for securing the LED flat panel in place, ensuring a stable installation.
Color Tuning Controller: Allows for adjustments in color temperature to create different ambiances or to suit specific tasks.
Occupancy Sensors: Similar to motion sensors, these detect the presence of people in a room and adjust the lighting accordingly.
Frosted Lens: This accessory diffuses the light, reducing glare and creating a softer illumination.
Cable Suspension Kit: Used for hanging the LED flat panel from the ceiling, providing an alternative to surface or flush mounting.
LED Panel Lighting Color Temperature
The color temperature of LED panel lighting is measured in Kelvin (K) and it describes how the light appears when you look at it. Here’s a brief description of each common color temperature:
- 3000K LED Flat Panels (Warm White)
- Appearance: Produces a warm, inviting light that has a slight yellowish hue, similar to traditional incandescent bulbs.
- Best For: Living spaces, bedrooms, and areas where a cozy, comfortable atmosphere is desired.
- 3500K LED Flat Panels (Neutral Warm)
- Appearance: Provides a balanced, warmer light that is slightly whiter than 3000K, but still retains a touch of warmth.
- Best For: Residential areas, lobbies, and spaces where you want a welcoming yet neutral light.
- 4000K LED Flat Panels (Cool White)
- Appearance: Emits a brighter, more neutral white light without the warm yellow tones.
- Best For: Offices, classrooms, showrooms, and areas where clear, bright illumination is needed for tasks.
- 5000K LED Flat Panels (Daylight)
- Appearance: Produces a very bright and clean light, similar to natural daylight.
- Best For: Workspaces, garages, and any area where accurate color rendering and clear visibility are important.
- 6000K LED Flat Panels (Cool Daylight)
- Appearance: Gives off a bright, crisp light with a slightly blue hue, resembling outdoor lighting conditions at midday.
- Best For: Display areas, task lighting, and spaces where the most accurate color rendering is crucial.
Backlit LED Panels
The most powerful type of flat panel light is the backlit panel, which utilizes a series of LED chips mounted directly behind the diffuser panel for maximum lumen output. These fixtures produce approximately 30% more power than other types of panels, with the tradeoff of increased mounting depth. They are ideal for drop ceilings, and can be used as surface mount lights with a bezel kit to properly secure them and allow them to seamlessly integrate into any interior design configuration.
Edge-Lit LED Panels
When the thinnest possible flat panel light is desired for an application, edge-lit panel lights are the best option. These are thinnest LED panel style lights in existence, and come in a variety of different sizes to meet different application requirements. With a number of different color temperatures to choose from, there is an edge-lit LED panel ready for your application.
LED Flat Panel Lighting Layout Design
As with any lighting setup, it is important that LED flat panels are configured properly with a custom designed photometric layout. This will result in the best possible setup, ensuring both maximum energy efficiency and lighting effectiveness. There are several factors that come into play when setting up a drop ceiling photometric plan, namely the lumen requirements of the specific application, as well as ceiling height and the physical dimensions of the area being illuminated.
When ceiling height is known, a fixture with the appropriate foot candle rating and beam angle to provide optimal coverage can be selected. The next factor playing into this will be room dimensions, which is a bit more tricky - especially for rooms with irregular dimensions. Simply using the square footage of a room to calculate the number of fixtures is not sufficient - instead, it is key that the fixtures are orientated in the most effective manner for the particular space. This can sometimes result in different size or wattage fixtures for certain parts of a room in order to provide optimal coverage.
Because of the variance in these factors and how they interact with each other in each unique application, designing the ideal drop ceiling setup is a complex task with significant amounts of planning and calculations involved. Recognizing the challenge this poses for end users and the importance of a properly designed lighting plan, we offer our own in-house professional photometric planning in order to ensure our customers end up with the most efficient and effective lighting solution for their specific application.
To illustrate our photometric planning capabilities, below is an example of an LED flat panel photometric design for a commercial office space that our photometric experts created for a building manager. This plan is specifically designed for a 15’ x 20’ area, with a 10 foot tall ceiling, covering 300 square feet in total.
To further elaborate on our photometric planning abilities, here’s an example of an LED flat panel 3d rendering of a 4,900 sq ft medical office building with 10 foot ceilings. In this example, 2x4 and 2x2 back-lit LED flat panel lights with color selectable technology were used to illuminate numerous areas inside this healthcare facility such as the exam room, hallway, waiting room, and lobby.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What are LED panels?
These are light fixtures designed to be mounted either in drop ceilings or as surface mount fixtures that flush with a finished ceiling. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and lumen outputs in order to meet any lighting application requirements. With a flat diffuser lens, they integrate seamlessly into traditional office ceiling setups as well as other types of interior design setups.
Q. What are the differences between flat panel and troffer lights?
These two types of lights are often used interchangeably for the same applications, however they do differ in aesthetics and mounting options. Troffer lights are designed to be used exclusively in drop ceilings with a diffuser cover. Flat panel lights on the other hand are able to be used in either a drop ceiling or mounted flat on a ceiling for a low profile look.
Q. How do you dim led flat panel lights
These lights are dimmable using a wall dimmer switch, as well as having selectable wattage outputs. Each specific style of light is different in its exact setup but dimming capability is now considered to be an industry standard for flat panel lighting.
Q. What’s the difference between edge lit LED panels and backlit LED panels?
The biggest difference between these two styles of LED panels is the way in which the LEDs themselves are installed and project light. Edge lit panels, as the name suggests, have LED chips on the edges of the panel facing inwards that illuminate the entire panel which is then directed towards the ground by the diffuser. Backlit panels are more straightforward, with more powerful LED chips mounted directly behind the diffuser lens that project straight towards the ground.
Q. How do you install led flat panel lights?
These can be installed one of several ways depending on the application requirements. Most are installed in drop ceiling systems that have an existing suspended grid that the lights fit seamlessly into. Others are surface mounted to finished ceilings, which sometimes requires a bezel kit for a complete and proper look. In other cases, interior design requirements necessitate custom mounting options, such as these lights being suspended by cables instead of being hard mounted. All mounting options will require the skills of a licensed electrician in order to ensure safety and maximum performance potential.
Q. How are flat panel LED lights mounted?
These lights can be surface mounted, suspended or mounted in a drop ceiling, depending on the application requirements. They come equipped with all the fixture specific hardware required for installation. The included LED driver is usually mounted in the ceiling or in another hidden location depending on where the light is being mounted.
Q. Why choose flat panel lights over tube lights?
Tube lights are the most popular choice for lighting large areas, especially in commercial environments. However these lights are bulky and not particularly aesthetically pleasing compared to flat panel lights. Flat panel lights offer similar light output and performance in a low profile and sleek profile, making them the ideal choice when aesthetics are an important factor.