LED parking lot lights are light fixtures that use LED technology that are specifically crafted for use in outdoor parking lots. They provide bright lighting for parking lots, helping users easily navigate through the lot. LED parking lot lights also increase safety at night, and reduce accidents that could occur because of darkness.
The particular desires of different areas in need of lighting have been considered when making lights. Customized lights are made to suit the peculiarities of the location, like car parks, refrigerators, high ceilings, etc. The LED parking lot light was also customized to cater to the peculiar needs of a parking lot, providing quality brightness and even improving the area's security to a certain level.
How Many Luminaires Are Needed To Light Up a Parking Lot?
Lumen is used to measure the brightness of LED lights. Generally, the higher the lumen, the brighter it will be. The lumen needed to light up a parking lot will depend on several factors like the lot size, how bright you want it to be, and its nearness to other buildings. If your parking lot light is installed at 15-20ft, two 20,000 lumen lights are recommended for each pole. Also, for lights installed at 29ft-30ft, a 40,000-lumen bulb is suitable, and the poles should be 30ft apart. You should also seek the advice of an expert when considering the lumen output.
Getting an LED Parking Lot Light
There are many factors to consider when choosing the right LED light for your parking lot. Some of these factors are:
1. Safety: The main reason for lighting in a parking lot is to illuminate it so people can find their way around safely. When getting an LED parking lot light, ensure that you get one that can illuminate all angles and get as much as is needed to do the job. This will prevent accidents.
2. LED color rendering: Color rendering concerns how objects appear under the light. This measurement is taken on a scale of 0 -100. For a parking lot, the suitable light rendering index is 70.
3. Color Temperature: The temperature measured in Kelvin depends on how warm or cool the light is. Warm lights are yellowish, while cool lights are bluish. For a parking lot, a color temperature ranges from 3000k to 6500k. This bracket is cool, but the best color temperature is 5000k.
4. Cross Lighting: For parking lots, you should arrange your light poles in both vertical and horizontal positions to ensure the even distribution of light across all areas.
5. Number of Lights per pole: Each pole in a parking lot should have two lights installed on them. This is the most appropriate number.
6. Light Distribution: The BUG rating refers to outdoor lights' distribution and pollution potential. The 'B' is for backlight, the 'U' is for lights directed upward, and the 'G' is for glare. The parking lot lights you should go for are those that are bright but at the same time minimize backlight, uplight, and glare. Since parking lots are not in isolated areas, it is necessary to consider how your lighting will affect neighbors.
7. Light Control: There are various ways you can control how long your light will stay on. Dimming the light when it is not needed will help reduce light bill costs and energy wastage. Some light controls available are.
- Photocell switch: These controls are photosensitive, so when natural light is high, they dim while brightening up when natural light is low.
- Timer Dimmer Control: This lighting control functions according to the time of the day. The light brightens in the daytime when the parking lot is in use and dims at night when no one is expected to be around.
- Motion Sensor: The motion sensor picks up the movement of people, so the light increases when human activity is noticed and dims when there is no one around.
8. Installation Cost: Replacing old parking lot lighting systems in a large parking lot takes up a lot of costs. If this is the issue, you might have to ditch plans of replacing them and instead opt for retrofitting.
Retrofit vs. Non-Retrofit LED Parking Lot Light Fixture
Retrofit regarding LED light fixtures is upgrading or converting an old or outdated light like the incandescent, halogen, or fluorescent bulb to an LED technology without replacing all the light components. This is done using an LED retrofit kit solution.
Non-retrofitting or LED replacement is the total replacement of an old light bulb fixture with an LED light bulb fixture. This requires you to dispose of the components of the old light bulb completely.
Retrofitting your old light is better than completely replacing the light source in your parking lot when trying to cut costs. This is an excellent option for companies who use large parking lot spaces, especially if their budget is low. Retrofitting helps you get the same benefit while saving costs. However, retrofitting is not always possible, and in such situations, you would have to do a replacement instead.
LED Parking Lot Mounting Options
There are different mounting options for the parking lot light. Choosing either one of these mounting types will depend on how you want your LED light to function.
- Slip Fit Mount: The slip fit mount is a mount that slips or slides over a pole. It can only be fitted to round and square poles using a round arm. The mount can be adjustable to give different illumination angles and is secured using bolts.
- Direct Mount: Also called arm mounts, these mounts are used both on the square and round poles. They can be fixed directly to square poles but need an adapter fitted to round poles. These mounts can accommodate more than one light fixture.
- Flood Mount: The flood mount doesn't need a junction box and is easy to install. You can fix it to the wall, a round, square pole. The flood mount is non-adjustable but fixed, limiting the illumination angles.
- Yoke Mount: This mount is also known as the trunnion mount. They are fixed to walls and ceilings but can also be used on square poles. You can use an adapter (round or square) in case they don't fit perfectly on the wall or pole. The yoke mount has an external junction box. It also permits more than one light fixture to be installed.
Conclusion
There are various parking lot lights to choose from. LED parking lot lights are made for parking lots and use LED technology to provide the most efficient lighting solution. Compared to HID parking lot lights, LED lights need low maintenance, last longer, and are more environmentally friendly. If replacing traditional parking lot lights with LED is too expensive, you can decide to retrofit, i.e., upgrading old lights to LED lights without completely changing them.
