Parking lot lights play an essential role in providing lighting and security to your parking lot. However, if they are poorly installed, they can be hazardous to motorists and pedestrians; they can also become a nuisance from too much glare. What are the things you should consider when designing a parking lot lighting system to avoid this? Before installing parking lot lights, there are several things that you should consider. Below are some of the things you should consider while setting up parking lot light fixtures.
Luminaire efficiency rating (LER)
Choosing the right parking lot lights fixtures has a lot to do with the LER factor. US Department of Energy requires that fixtures have an LER rating of above 65. The right LER factor provides quality and value. You can calculate the LER rating by dividing the luminaire output known as lumens by the watts’ input power.
The surrounding environment
When installing parking lot rights, consider the surrounding
buildings, trees, take note of the exit and entry points of the parking. The parking lot measurements, how many levels the parking lot has. Taking note of the surroundings ensures that you choose the right fixtures that optimize security and manage the glaring lighting effect.
To achieve spill glare while still complying with the Dark-Sky guidelines, you can use either of the four cut-offs depending on luminous intensity. These include semi cut-offs, non-cut-of, cut-offs, and full cut-offs.
Parking light Poles allowed height
There are specific pole heights allowed on parking lot lights depending on the location of the parking lot. Besides that, different parking spaces will require different pole height and the distance apart from one pole to the other. Where you have a highly-populated area, it is advisable to use shorter poles while increasing the number of lights to reduce glare and increase illumination. On the other hand, rural areas and less densely populated areas, taller and fewer poles, can be used. A lighting engineer can help in the design to get the right coverage and illumination.
The recommended parking light levels
Parking lot light levels have different illuminance ranges. The recommendations claim that; the minimum necessary horizontal illumination should be between 0.2 FC with a uniformity ratio of 20:1 and 0.1 FC minimum vertical illuminance. For Enhanced security, horizontal illumination should have 0.5FC, 15:1uniformity ratio, and minimum vertical illuminance of 0.25FC. This differs depending on whether the area is residential, required to have light levels under 0.15FC or commercial areas within residential properties, which requires 0.04 FC.
Designing the right parking lot lights layout can prove to be complicated and overwhelming. The above points will enable you to develop a coherent parking lot lighting system that will provide optimum lighting and security and avoid being a nuisance to the public while also following the set-out regulations and guidelines. It will help you achieve the best results and get value for your money. You have invested a lot on your car, why not add some more amd ensure your investment is safe. source: https://www.adiding.com/What-things-to-consider-when-laying-out-parking-lot-lights-a258308.html.
