Are you considering installing some outdoor parking lot lights? For starters, it’s a worthwhile investment, lots of energy savings and better lighting. In addition to this, they also reduce maintenance costs and provide a safer light source. Choosing the right lighting for your parking lot makes all the difference. With a variety of LED lights available, with different wattages, mounting styles, features, etc., choosing one can be a daunting task. We have created this guide for your convenience.
What are outdoor parking lot lights?
If you own commercial real estate, then you must explore options for switching to LED lights. These lights are proving particularly useful for parking lots and outperforming traditional lighting methods.
The lights in the parking lot suffered a lot from the harsh environmental factors. This increases their maintenance needs to maintain good performance and ensure the safety of people passing by from the car park.
Greater energy savings is a big advantage of using LED lights, but there’s more to know. LED lights do not produce UV light unless otherwise constructed. This makes the car park bug free and more pleasant for pedestrians and passersby.
LED lights also have a higher durability quotient than other lighting methods, which makes them less expensive to maintain and, more importantly, more resistant to damage. So LEDs provide more than they get. What else is needed to decide to choose LED lights over other lights.
LED parking lot lights are parking lot lights built using Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. LED technology saves energy and provides better lighting
This one may be obvious, but what may not be obvious is that even though we call them parking lot lights, they are actually all general purpose area lights. We can also use them for flood lighting or sports lighting applications. The possible uses are endless.
What are the reasons for using LED lights as outdoor parking lot lights?
This may be obvious, if you already understand, you can skip this part. Here are many reasons why you should choose LED parking lot lights:
Cost: LED lights offer lower energy and maintenance costs. Typically, LED lights have a lifespan of 100,000 hours. This means you don’t have to replace them as often as HID lights, about every 5 years to every 25 years.
Energy efficient: They are 70% more energy efficient than HIDs, saving you thousands of dollars in energy costs. (300 watts replace 1000 watts). Bbier lighting’s LED outdoor parking lot lights can reach 140 lumens per watt.
Light Quality: Another reason to choose LED lights is the quality of the light. These lamps offer better color rendering index ratings, ranging from 50″ metal halide to approximately 75″ LED. From 20 in Orange High Pressure Sodium (HPS)! There’s also no hum or flicker, scientifically known as Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). This low THD makes them safer and easier on the eyes.
Hipster: Old boxes don’t quite keep the place looking new and attractive, it might not matter in the back of a warehouse, but retail and other areas with customers do matter. The new LED lights look more attractive and bring an updated look to the area.
Easy maintenance: 10 years without maintenance? Yes, that’s right. No ballast replacement or bulb replacement required, just sold there. You can focus on a specific area and lighten or darken it. There are many reasons for changing the brightness of a light. Either follow municipal lighting codes or reduce light pollution. HID lights don’t have this flexibility.
Safety: One of the reasons why parking lots choose LED lights is safety. A poorly lit parking lot is dangerous for everyone. From houses with various crimes to unpredictable driving accidents, it can happen if the lot is poorly lit. Installing LED lights in your parking lot will make people feel safer and customers more likely to stop. If the parking lot is poorly lit, high-power LED lights can be used to make the parking lot safer and brighter, while saving some energy. Apart from that, it also works with CCTV. In the event of an accident, safety video can clearly capture the incident.
How to determine the best installation height for outdoor parking lot lights?
Outdoor parking lot lights can be installed anywhere between 12 feet and 20 feet, but can be as high as 35 feet in some cases. The size of the parking lot will be used to determine the recommended height of the pole; larger areas are better for higher poles and vice versa.
Another aspect to consider is whether your area is densely populated or rural. No matter where your business is, you want to limit the amount of light that goes beyond your property. If your lot is adjacent to many other properties, shorter poles are required to ensure there are no glare issues. Meanwhile, in rural areas, you will be able to have taller light poles.
How far apart should the poles be?
Once the installation height is determined, you can decide the spacing of the fixtures. Rule of thumb: The higher the installation height, the fewer light poles you need.
Continuing with the previous example, in densely populated areas you should have more light poles closer together, and in rural areas you should have fewer light poles farther apart.
What are the different beam angles and which should I choose?
The last detail in optimizing light distribution is the beam angle. While your specific application and lighting environment may cause changes in luminaire distribution patterns, we can still make general predictions about the distribution.
Type III Beam: Type III distribution projects light forward and to the sides, creating a filling optical flow. It is ideal for general parking areas, for perimeter lighting or for back-to-back mounting in a more central pole position.
The Type III light distribution has a preferred lateral width of 40 degrees. This distribution is best suited for outdoor parking lot lights installed in or near areas with an area width no greater than 2.75 times the installation height.
Type IV Beam: Type IV distribution produces a semi-circular forward light with minimal backlighting. This beam type has the same intensity at all angles from 90° to 270°. It’s best for illuminating the parking lot as well as the surrounding area.
Type IV light distribution has a preferred lateral width of 60 degrees. This distribution is generally used for wide roadways where the roadway width does not exceed 3.7 times the installation height.
V-Beam: The V-shape produces a square umbrella-shaped lighting pattern for the interior pole position. This distribution has the same intensity at all angles, and the symmetry of the candela is essentially the same at all lateral angles.
It’s ideal for areas that require an even distribution of light, such as large commercial parking lots.
How to choose lumens for outdoor parking lot lights?
When you buy any new LED light, you have to forget about the wattage. Your focus must be on lumens. Watts represent the brightness of light. It is a measure of how much energy light absorbs. Since LEDs are more efficient, more light can be obtained per watt. So watts are only a secondary factor. The brightness of an LED is determined by lumens. A lumen is a measure of the brightness provided by light. So when you buy LED lights, you should look at lumens and light angle.
Some examples:
- 1000watt metal halide requires about 30,000 to 60,000 lumens. Check out our 300W to 480W LED outdoor parking lot lights.
- When you’re looking for a 400-watt metal halide LED replacement, you can choose to check out our 100-watt, 120-watt or 150-watt models. For a 400-watt alternative, you’ll need 12,000 to 20,000 lumens.
- For the 250 watt metal halide model, you should look at 9000 to 12000 lumens. If you’re looking for an 80 watt or 100 watt metal halide, 4000 to 8000 lumens is a good choice. You can also start looking at LED corn bulbs at this level. Might be a good solution.
- For 150 watts or 175 watts, you should consider 7000 to 9000 lumens. This is our 60 watt lamp.
Do you need to use photocell sensor in parking lot lights?
Photocell sensors are dusk-to-dawn sensors that ensure the outdoor parking lot lights are only on at night. Photocells are not required if using a digital timer that takes into account daylight saving time and the time of year. For basic timers, it’s probably a good idea to use both, as photocells can still save energy and money.