The parking lot lighting is essential for every car dealership. The textures, colors, and overall visibility can be misguiding to your potential customers if it is night or a foggy day. So, either your parking lighting is helping your business or the opposite. The simple truth is that bad lighting is nothing but a burden on car dealers. 

Here is your guide to proper car dealership parking lot lighting. Here’s what you need to know on the matter.

Why LED Lighting?

If you have ever spoken about car dealership parking lot lighting with other car dealership owners or light engineers, then you have heard more than once that your best option is LED lighting.

First and foremost, LED lighting for car dealerships has the longest life span than other lightings. Typically, LED’s lifespan is 10,000 hours or more. Then there is the fact that they are the most efficient light solution on the market, meaning lower electricity bills. LED lights are 70% more efficient than HID lights.

On account of the long life span and energy efficiency, that’s thousands of dollars saved.

They offer superior color rendering ratings compared to metal halide and HPS lights in terms of light quality. Furthermore, their lower THD means they are easy on the eyes and very safe at the same time.

LED lights can supply natural white, which perfectly lights up the lot and is parked in it. Thanks to the natural white light, the visitors will get a sense of well-being, all the colors will be accentuated, and the CCTV cameras will get clearer views.

How to Choose the Right Kelvin Color?

LED lights are available in various colors. Here are the most common ones.

• 3000K is a warm color that is more appropriate for restaurants and houses.
• 4000K offers a somewhat sharper color that resembles natural light. It can be used for all sorts of areas of work.
• 5000K is best for outdoors and large spaces. This is one of the most popular colors for car dealership parking lots. 
• 5700K has a blueish tint that is very popular with areas that attract a lot of attention and gas stations. 

The Different Types of LED Mounts

Here are some of the most common types of LED mounts.

• Arm mount.

They look very clean and can be easily mounted on any pole.

• Slip Fit Mount

These are the most common types that can be easily slid over any standard sized pole.

• Flood mount

They feature a wide side bracket, which makes them perfect for walls, signage, or roofs. Most of these mounts are too wide for standard metal poles but are perfectly suitable for wooden telephone poles.

• Yoke Mount

These mounts are recommended only if they go into a solid metal surface. Otherwise, they can easily get strained.

Wattage

Wattage is super important as it is closely related to the lumens. The higher the wattage, the higher the lumen output. Your choice must be made based on the lumens that you need to light up the parking lot. For example, if you want to cover fifteen to twenty feet, you will need to look for LEDs featuring 16000 to 20000 lumens. If it is an area ranging from twenty to thirty feet, 40,000 lumen light is the optimal choice. 

Let’s Summarize

LEDs are the best possible choice when it comes to car dealership parking lot lighting. Here we’ve explained some of the most critical aspects of this type of lighting. For a more detailed approach, make sure you use the services of a reliable company experienced in outdoor LED installations.

Every day, streets are used by pedestrians and vehicles. They have a way of making passage and movement pretty easy and orderly for users. When it is dark, street lights are used to illuminate these passages with light. This makes the passage less precarious for the users. According to a trusted solar street light manufacturer, it is important to understand the components of a solar system before purchase.

A solar street lighting is a lamp mounted on a pole specifically for outdoor lighting. The device is supposed to offer lighting for a street to allow you and others to use the passage comfortably.  

Solar street lights come in different types and shapes. But, they operate with the same concept.

 

Here are the top features of these lights

The panel of the solar is one of the essential items of the device. It plays the role of converting solar energy into electricity.

That said, there are two primary types of solar panels.

· Mono-crystalline

· Poly-crystalline

The difference lies in the rate at which they convert light into electricity.

 

The Rechargeable battery

Every solar street light comes with a rechargeable battery that stores electricity from the panel at daybreak.

The battery emits energy to the device at night. The battery’s life cycle is important to the entire shelf life of the machine as it will affect the backup program for days.

Usually, solar street lighting comes with two battery types- the Gel Cell and Lead Acid Batteries.

The controller, just as its name suggests, plays a crucial role in the operation of the street light. It decides which of the switches should power on the solar street light. Some of the modern controllers are programmable. This enables the user to decide the viable change of charging and dimming.

One of the most prominent solar controllers is Germany Phocos.

The lighting fixture

LED is often used as the major lighting source for the modern solar street light. This is because it has a way of providing higher lumens coupled with lower energy consumption.

 

The consumption of energy in LED fixtures is about 50 percent lower than that of the HPS lighting fixture that is often used as the major lighting source in conventional street lighting systems.

LEDs do not have the chance of warming up to allow the application of motion detectors.

Over and above, solar street lights are highly dependent on the utility grid. Therefore, their operating costs are minimal.

 

Why solar street lights and not traditional street lights?

· Solar street lighting systems are easy to maintain as compared to their counterparts.

· Because the external wires are largely eliminated, the risks of accidents are, of course, minimal.

· It is a non-polluting electricity source.

· The initial investment is rather higher than the one for traditional light. However, it is more economical.

 

Final Thoughts

All the good brands of solar street lights provide effective powered outdoor lighting for users. They also come with a user-friendly package to help evade the issues associated with connecting cables. Experts use lithium batteries in the manufacturing process to prolong the life of the device.

 

Parking lot lights are essential aspects in commercial as well as large residential areas. The lights help to significantly improve the rate of security in the parking lots and the areas surrounding it for both pedestrians, vehicle owners, and the vehicles as well. The lights also assist in ensuring safety when driving cars in and out of the parking lots at night. It is always wise to have parking lot lights on during the ensure night period for maximum effectiveness. While this is beneficial for the users of the parking lot, it means more costs for the owners of the commercial buildings or businesses. For these reasons, most people are turning to LED parking lot lights.

Benefits of LED parking lot lights over other types of parking lot lights

• LED Vs Incandescent lights- LED lights offer more advantages than incandescent lights as they use up less energy. Incandescent lights work by passing light through a filament which heats up to produce light. This process leads to energy wastage in the production of heat. Compared to incandescent lights, LED lights save up to 10000 hours’ worth of light and more.
• LEDs Vs CFLs- CFL lights work in such a way that electric current is allowed to flow between two electrodes. The electrodes are situated at the end of a tube filled with gas and coated with phosphorous. The heat hits the coating causing it to change into light. On the other hand, LEDs produce light when energy is passed through a semiconductor. Compared to LEDs, CFL lights use up more energy hence are more costly. CFLs also take up to thirty seconds to start while LEDs do not suffer this challenge.
• LED lights Vs Fluorescent lights- Fluorescent light is omnidirectional while LED light is directional. This feature can be looked at as an advantage over LEDs or not, depending on the application. For instance, when looking for a desk light LEDs are the way to go and when looking for a conference hall light, fluorescents are the way to go. In terms of energy consumption, LEDs are more energy efficient by far. Also, Fluorescent lights emit UV lights which are harmful to the eye. Between the two, LED lights are also more durable, more rugged and better in terms of quality of lighting.

Switching from standard parking lot lights to LED parking lot lights

Consider the following factors;

• Cost of replacing and disposing of the existing the fixtures
• Cost of installing and purchasing the new lights against the cost of maintaining the old ones
• Usability of the existing fixtures
• Cost of maintenance for the new lights and the reception
• Ease of installation of the new lights

Take Away

Parking lot lights are similar to area lights and outdoor lights. The main similarity between these types of lights is that they are mostly aimed at enhancing security outdoors. Maintenance of these lights is the costliest aspect because they are exposed to elements like weather and theft. Controlling the lights is also a challenge that can only be solved by automizing them.

Keeping your parking lot efficiently lit is one of the best decisions you can make in this crime-dominated era. However, it is a costly venture that needs sufficient monetary resources. Gaining access to a source of light that can spread throughout the parking lot is a significant challenge for business owners. Of course, employees and customers would find it challenging to walk through a poorly lit parking area. For that reason, you need to take note of some aspects when switching to LED for parking lot lights. Here are a few things to note in LED lighting for the parking lot.

• Comparing LED’s Anatomy With HIDs Parking Lot Lights

HIDs are known as gas-discharged arc lamps where light is transmitted through the electrical current. Usually, this wavelength travels between ionized gas as well as electrodes. At the same time, a form of gas is utilized to determine if the HID is mercury-based or sodium-based. In the end, everything will be sealed in a glass capsule of quartz.  The LED parking lot light anatomy is quite different. It utilizes a reliable form of technology in converting electricity to light. The LED modules are often made up of small light bulbs known to be semiconductors of light. The elements are usually fitted into a specific electrical circuit.  

• Energy Costs

With HID fixtures as your parking lot lighting, you will be consuming more than half the total energy. But, LED parking lot lights will play a significant role in saving you from the high electricity costs you may have been parting with in the past. By switching to this option, you will be choosing a direct replacement for about 400-watts. This is approximately 200 watts less than the same wavelength of light consumed by HID fixtures.  

• Color And Brightness

HID light fixtures have a slightly lower color-rendering index. This refers to the much a light source can reveal the actual color of people and their environment. Typically, an HID bulb may range from zero to approximately 60 of metal halide. On the other hand, LED light fixtures to have a way of delivering uniform yet focused light coupled with fewer glares. Following the crispy look emitted by the light waves, LED parking lights to come with improved visibility.  

• A Look At Pole Placement

You would agree that there are various parking lot layouts. This implies that every parking lot light is appended to a tall pole. From a vantage point, this light can easily illuminate the entire parking lot area. Since LED light is known for its ability to offer more light, it can easily be tailored to suit your needs. This implies that you can use slightly lesser light poles compared to what you would have used in the case of conventional parking lot lighting.

Take-Home

Installing LED parking lot lighting is an excellent decision for individuals running different businesses on commercial premises. This can be a perfect choice for construction sites around you since it can save you thousands of dollars in your lifetime.