Basic design requirements needed

IES has many recommendations; buy a copy of the IES handbook.

The IES only publishes recommendations, but does have very in depth sections dealing with light levels and human perception, as well as various recommended light levels based upon the task at hand, in a particular area. To calculate the light levels for a project you are going to need a lighting calculation program, many of which are free from lighting representatives, the better ones can be quite expensive. You may also have to deal with local AHJ requirements which may dictate maximum installed W/ft², to meet energy compliance regulations. The recommended light levels for spaces are constantly changing as technology advances, and energy regulations change.

So,
How about some baselines. What is a typical illuminance for an office, for a warehouse, and for a Walmart?

The baselines are in the IES lighting handbook! If you want to be in lighting design business, you can't do without it.

If you're unwilling to pay for the IES standards, you could look at the OSHA regulations, for example:


TTFN

FAQ731-376

Lighting design, even for a warehouse is much more complex than just getting a baseline lighting level and pumping enough footcandles to that calculated value.

"Brightness" is not a measure of the amount of lighting in a space. It is a measure of the source brightness when you look towrd the fixture measured in foot-lamberts.

Illuminance is measured in foot-candles or lux. These are given in the IES handbook for various spaces.

But even with the level in hand you need to know the tasks and the environment. What is being stored? Is it furniture or microelectronics. Is it by the pallet or by the microchip. Is it a 12 ft ceiling or a 60 ft ceiling. Are the aisles 12' wide with lift operation-or 16' wide with catwalks? Is it a mechanized warehouse?

If the storage racks are 30 ft in height what do you care what the footcandle reading is on the floor? What kind of fixtures are you specifying? Hi-bay 400W Metal Halide? Linear flourescents? Is there sky-lighting? What is the AHJ's requirement for maximum wattage density?

Office lighting depending on tasks can be from 20 to 150 footcandles. Warehouses can be from 5 to 70. Both depend on task size and type, space geometry, energy limitatins and local codes.

United Facilities Criteria UFC 3-530-01 has military lighting design level requirements for lots of different spaces, including warehouses & offices. It's free, too.