BUYERS GUIDE TO LIGHT POLES AND POLE LIGHTS

Light Poles and Pole Lights - How to Figure it all out

LED lights consume less electricity than traditional lighting but provide better luminosity, brightness, and uniformity. Most parking lights remain on for over 13 hours per day and rates are now averaging 13 cents a kilowatt hour, so you want the most energy-efficient lights available.   Read on to learn why outdoor led lights are an economical choice when purchasing light poles.

Important Business Investment

You never get the chance to make a second first impression, and that begins with your business parking area. Make sure your parking lot led pole lights and building lights makes you very visible. Even when your business is closed, these important factors will impress potential clients when they drive by. A well-lit business receives up to five times the number of customers.

When purchasing light poles and outdoor led lights, it is best to work with a lighting expert from a knowledgeable company.

Standards for Corrosion, Electricity, and Vibration

When purchasing light poles the main objective is to obtain inexpensive lighting with good coverage. Don't side-step important quality requirements.

Area to Illuminate and Compatibility

When planning to install light poles and pole lights, you must determine how much area you want to illuminate. This determines the number of poles needed and the type of LED lighting that meets your needs. You must also check on local restrictions on pole size or lighting.

Make sure that the pole and light are compatible with each other. This is especially important if you are purchasing new pole lights to put on old poles.

What tests do light poles have to pass?

A:First they should appropriate gauge or thickness to hold up to storms or earthquakes.   They have to meet an EPA rating for wind based on their strength.

Make sure fixtures are tested for outdoor and corrosive environments. They should have passed the ASTM B117 salt fog or salt spray testing. The purpose of this test is to prevent corrosion of metal and reduction of light.

The fixtures and lights should meet the electrical service standards. Your light poles and lights also need to pass the relevant vibration standards of the American National Standards Institute.

The final area is the outdoor lighting standards, which establish the standards for properly designed and installed outdoor lighting. Standards may vary by state or city.

Select a Pole

A light pole is more than a piece of wood holding a light. There are various factors that must be considered, including height, material, and whether the pole holds only one light or several. This will also determine whether you should purchase a pole that is round or square..

Height of Poles

Light poles vary in height and style depending on their placement and use. The height of the pole will impact how far the light is dispersed. The type of pole and light will be different depending on whether you are lighting a small parking lot, a large commercial lot, a park, a sporting venue, or a side street.

When determining the proper height for your poles, you should consider not only how far the light will shine, but also where it will be located with respect to its purpose. For example, when lighting a sports field you do not want to blind the players with the light, and you also do not want it glaring into the eyes of the spectators.

Some poles and accessories allow you to mount more than one light on each pole. A 2 lights per outdoor light poles is common in parking lots.  4 lights if the pole is high enough, usually 25ft plus.   This helps provide more coverage with fewer poles.

How Much Concrete do i need for the light pole footing?

A: The standard rule of thumb is 3ft down x 4ft wide + add 1 foot down and 1 foot wide for every 5 feet above 18 feet up. Rebar and commercial grade concrete required. Always check local codes and concrete recommendations.

What size light pole do i need?

A: This depends on the use. The most common light poles are 20ft to 25 ft. You can use a 15ft pole for a small area, driveways and home sport courts. The ISTA and other Tennis bodies specify the light at 22.8ft, which is a 20ft pole plus an adapter on top. This is probably the most common height for poles and 2 of the 20K lumen fixures do well here. 25ft poles are used for larger lots to cover more space and typically have brighter lights with more lumens on them. Use 2-4 of the 40K lumen fixtures. Baseball and other ball field lighting usually starts at 40ft and goes up and you'll need LED Stadium lights with narrower beam angles here

what are the types of outdoor light poles?

The best pole for your lighting needs will be determined by its purpose and location. Durability and local weather are also determining factors in the type of pole you select.

Wooden light poles are the cheapest option but are not as cosmetically appealing as other materials. Because the pole is solid wood, electrical wiring must be attached to the outside of the pole. This means you will have to meet the electrical code for weatherproofing the wires.

Fiberglass is versatile and lightweight. It is more water-resistant than steel or wood, but not as sturdy as those options. It is also more costly.

Aluminum and steel poles both have the advantage of being hollow. This allows electrical wiring to be run internally. This is more cosmetically appealing and provides protection from weather. This makes it less likely to develop electrical problems.

Aluminum poles are lightweight and rust-resistant but are usually more expensive than steel poles. Steel poles are the most popular choice. They are strong, able to withstand windy weather and are economically priced.

Lightweight poles sway slightly in the wind. This movement can cause the protective finish on the pole to fail. Metal coatings are available that will improve the resistance of steel and aluminum poles to corrosion.

It is recommended you add surge protectors at the pole and breaker. Power surges are common, so this safety precaution is highly recommended. In areas that experience frequent lightning, it should be considered a requirement.

Outdoor LED Lights are an Economical Choice

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) is the most energy-efficient light on the market. The lifespan of an LED light is 10 times that of a traditional bulb.

Energy Efficient

Exterior lighting is a significant portion of the total electric bill for business. Outside pole lights are normally on from dusk to dawn, so economical solutions are important. Due to their long lifespan, exterior LED lights are a cost-saving answer.

Lifespan of Light bulbs

LED -- 25,000 to 100,000 hours

Incandescent light bulb -- 1,200 hours

Halogen light bulb -- 2,500 hours

Mercury vapor light -- 24,000 hours

Fluorescent light bulb -- 7,000 hours to 15,000 hours

Metal Halide bulb -- 6,000 hours to 15,000 hours

High and low-pressure sodium light -- 18,000 hours to 24,000 hours

High-intensity discharge light -- 6,000 hours to 24,000 hours.

With an average lifespan of 50,000 hours, an LED light could last approximately 20 years if used for six hours per day.

Changing from 400-watt metal halides to a 150 watt outdoor LED pole light saves 250 watts on the bulb, plus an additional 50 watts on the ballast. The result is a savings of 300 watts per light pole, the equivalent of a 70% energy savings.

Lighting Controls Conserve Energy

There are five types of lighting controls that will provide more energy savings:

• Dusk to dawn photocells turn the lights on at sundown and off at sunrise.

• Bi-levels reduce light output (dim) at a specific programmed time

• Motion sensors turn the lights on only when motion is detected

• Smart timers, also called Astronomical clocks turn lights off and on depending on the season

• The photocell is a popular choice for outdoor lighting. Having lights that automatically come on at dusk and turn off at sunrise reduces electrical costs.

Bypass caps are used in place of the photocell. A timer is used to turn lights off and on at specified times. This is an easy area to fault on energy savings because as the days shorten in the fall or lengthen in the summer you may forget to make proper adjustments to the light timer.

Extreme hot or cold temperatures have no impact on the efficiency of outdoor LED lighting. Changing to LED lighting in parking lots provides a 40% to 60% reduction in energy bills for each parking lot. This is equal to a $300.00 savings in the cost of electricity per light pole per year.

Quality Light Coverage

Quality outdoor lighting provides for the safety of both customers and employees, plus gives a professional look to your business Traditional bulbs give a yellow tint to everything they illuminate, including grass and trees.

LED lights provide a clean, bright light that allows items such as shrubbery and trees to maintain their proper color. This clean look is more inviting to your customers.

The brightness of an LED light is measured in lumens (lm), not watts. Because they consume fewer watts than halogen and incandescent bulbs, it is difficult to determine the brightness of the bulb based on wattage.

High-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs do not evenly distribute light. This results in dark spots or shadows in the lighted area. The LED light provides illumination that is disbursed over 360 degrees, eliminating dark spots.

Changing bulbs is costly. Not only do bulbs have to be purchased, but there is also the labor cost of having someone access the high pole. LED lights have a lifespan that drastically reduces the need to change bulbs.

The goal is to provide uniform lighting across the entire area for the safety of people and vehicles while keeping the security cameras performing optimally.

Types of Light Distribution

The type of light distribution needed depends on the area you need to cover. There are six different types of light distributors:

Type I - walkways, narrow roads, sidewalks

Type II - wide walkways, extended narrow areas like jogging tracks, side streets

Type III - general parking lots, any large area

Type IV - disseminates light in a semi-circle area, usually mounted on the side of a building.

Type V - Circular distribution with uniform intensity, good in large commercial lots

Type VI - square distribution of light with the same intensity at all angles, good for parks, large areas, large parking lots

Selecting Proper Lumen

Parking lot LED lights come in a wide selection of lumens. You can go a little brighter than you think. A good estimation is 10,000 lumens for every 1,000 square feet you are lighting.

If you use 2-4 fixtures for every 1,000 square feet and spread them out you will get better coverage. With poles that are 15-20 feet high, you can go up to 20,000 lumens because the light will spread out.

Light Pole Installation

When purchasing your light poles and LED pole lights, do not forget to include installation in your budget.   The cost of installation should include the cost of materials, delivery to the job site, plus the labor and equipment charges to install the pole. There may be additional costs, including having electrical run to the pole.

Most pole have a base manifold plate designed to be bolted into a concrete base.   Review the manifold diagram of the outdoor pole lights to ensure you have a base wide enough to handle it.   Bases should be extra secure.  Rarely does a street light pole bend or break, its usually that they are ripped from the ground at the bolts, but sometimes with the concrete footing coming too.