LED Parking Lot Lights Buying Guide

As a business owner, landlord or maintenance manager, you know the importance of providing tenants, workers and delivery drivers with clean, safe commercial parking lot lights. But with all the lighting choices out there, how do you know what will work best in your space? In this article, we'll discuss the benefits of LED parking lot lights, what types of light fixtures are necessary, how to plan for the space you're trying to light – and how Warehouse-Lighting.com can help with all the LED illumination you need.

By Warehouse Lighting

Why LEDs Make the Best Commercial Parking Lot Lights

Exploring Your Options for Outdoor Parking Lot Lights

Placement of Parking Lot LED Lights

Why LEDs Make the Best Commercial Parking Lot Lights

If you already use old-style fixtures for commercial parking lot lights, you may think it's easier just to replace the bulb. That may be true, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't look at the whole picture. When you replace your old fixtures with light-emitting diode (LED) parking lot lights, you'll enjoy these long-term advantages:

More Cost-Effective: The initial outlay for LED parking lot lights will be more, especially if you retrofit old fixtures. But this cost is well worth it. Consider that LED lights typically last 100,000 hours, meaning it will be 5 to 25 years before you'll have to replace them. Along with saving money on the lights themselves, you'll save a bundle on maintenance costs to replace burned-out bulbs. And unlike old-style bulbs, LED lights require just one worker (not two) to change.
Higher Energy Efficiency: LED parking lot lights are 70% more energy efficient than previous generations of lighting. Old-style 1,000-watt bulbs can be replaced by 300-watt LED bulbs.
Better Quality of Light: LED lights provide better, more evenly distributed illumination without the buzz and flicker known as THD (total harmonic distortion). Low THD results in safer lighting that's easier on the eyes.
Safety Assurance: Better lighting means LED parking lot lights are also safer. Outdoor security lighting is an important concern for any business owner since the responsibility to safeguard the area in and around the parking lot is on their shoulders. LED parking lot lighting is the ideal solution because it performs well in outdoor settings and partners well with closed-circuit cameras, which means that any incidents occurring in your parking lot are captured for legal and insurance purposes.

Exploring Your Options for Outdoor Parking Lot Lights

As you might imagine, due to their practical nature (and the fact you aren't looking at them close-up), most outdoor parking lot light fixtures feature straightforward, modern designs – although there are other options if you're lighting a smaller area. Your choices include:

Shoebox Lights: Ideal for illuminating parking lots, highways and streets, powerful LED shoebox lights for your space are reliable and built to withstand the elements while providing years of solid lighting performance.
Cobra Head Lights: LED cobra head light fixtures are well-suited for your parking lot but can also offer outstanding, durable performance on streets and highways. Cobra head lighting provides excellent light distribution for a uniform area of illumination.
LED Architectural Area Parking Lot Lights: Ideal for pathways, entryways and smaller parking areas, architectural area lighting (also called post top lighting) is pole-mounted closer to the ground and brings a profusion of light to limited outdoor spaces.
Outdoor Wall Lights: Along with your parking lot, you want to ensure the safety of workers and visitors as they leave or approach your building. Including outdoor wall lights in your plan helps to ensure that foot traffic moves safely from your facility to the parking area.

Along with sorting out the types of light fixtures you'll need, there are a few other components you may need to add to your shopping cart:

Light Poles: Some parking lot lights for sale come pre-mounted as light pole combination packages, in which case, your shopping just got a whole lot easier. You also have an easier task if you only replace the outdated fixtures and keep the poles. But if you need to get poles to mount your parking lot lights, you still have some work to do. First, determine the height of the commercial light poles you need (generally from 15 feet to 50 feet tall), the width of the poles (typically 4 inches to 10 inches wide) and whether you want round or square light poles.
Light Pole Bullhorn Brackets: If you want to maximize the potential of your parking lot light's illumination, bullhorn light pole brackets and mounts are a great solution. These attachments act as extenders to increase your illumination area.

Placement of Parking Lot LED Lights

"Location, Location, Location" may be a popular real estate motto, but it also applies to your parking lot. Where and how you position your parking lot LED lights will determine the effectiveness of your illumination. Here are some tips to ensure your lighting plan will be a success from the day of installation through all the years to come:

Light Uniformity: This specific measurement refers to the light fixture's ability to illuminate an area with a consistent level of brightness. The ideal uniformity ratio is approximately 3:1. Check the specifications for the parking lot LED light fixture you're buying to ensure you're covered.
Number of Lights: It's recommended you have two LED parking lot lights per pole, but you can use up to four if you need additional brightness.
Spacing: The higher you go, the bigger the fixture and farther apart your lights should be. If you frequently experience high winds or there are regulations that prohibit tall light fixtures, you'll need to rethink your strategy.
Meeting Municipal Standards: Remember to verify that your parking lot lights meet all local code requirements. This includes things like the height of your parking lot light fixtures, their brightness and whether you're required to dim the lights in the parking lot at the close of business.

Frequently Asked Questions About Commercial-Grade LED Parking Lot Lights

Can I Do an LED Parking Lot Lights Retrofit?

Yes, you can swap outdated lighting fixtures for their modern counterparts using LED parking lot and street light retrofits. Retrofitting – also known as "relighting" – enables you to quickly update old, inefficient lighting sources by replacing them with longer-lasting, brighter LED parking lot light fixtures.

How Many Lumens Do I Need for Outdoor Parking Lot Lights?

An LED light's brightness is measured in lumens. The lumens you need will be dictated by the amount of space your light covers. For example, if you're covering 15 to 20 feet, choose outdoor parking lot lights with 16,000 to 20,000 lumens. To achieve a lighted area of 20 to 30 feet, 40,000 lumens is your best bet.

How Are Photocells Used With Parking Lot LED Lights?

Photocells are sensors that tell your LED lights when to turn on and off at the approach of dusk or dawn. Some versions of a photocell also allow for dimming. Photocells used in conjunction with commercial-grade LED parking lot lights are more efficient and can compensate for low-light events in the daytime, such as thunderstorms.

Shop Warehouse-Lighting.com for Reliable LED Parking Lot Lights

Warehouse-Lighting.com has the highly-efficient, durable commercial LED parking lot lights and poles you need for your property, whether it's a small area for visitors to park or a stadium-sized parking lot. We provide lighting solutions and can help you develop a layout plan that will work for you and your budget. For 16+ years, professional contractors have counted on us to provide solutions for their lighting needs. We'd love to help you buy parking lot lighting or other products for your next project. Contact us any time with any questions you may have about our parking lot lights for sale or any other products from Warehouse-Lighting.com.

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