How Many Lumens Do I Need For Parking Lot Lights?

It’s difficult to know how many lumens you’ll need for your parking lot lights. If you set it too low, your parking lot will appear to be gloomy and dangerous. And, if you set it too high, it can look like a runway for your local airport.

What are lumens?

In the past, watts were commonly used to assess conventional bulbs. However, watts are used to quantify energy use rather than light output. And, with LED, wattage isn’t as crucial as it formerly was. Instead, modern technology will list brightness as the number of lumens it produces.

Wikipedia explains lumens as, “The lumen can be thought of casually as a measure of the total amount of visible light in some defined beam or angle, or emitted from some source.”

To be precise, brightness is measured in lumens. And lumens are a unit of measurement for how much light a bulb produces. A higher lumen count indicates a brighter light, while a lower lumen count indicates a dimmer light. Watts, on the other hand, do not. Watts aren’t useless, but they represent energy use rather than brightness. Thanks to new, energy-efficient LED technology; we can no longer rely on wattage to describe how bright a bulb is.

How many lumens do you need for a parking lot?

If using LED pole lights, on each pole, it’s usually proposed to have 2 LED parking lot light heads with 20,000 lumens each, poles spaced about 15-20 feet apart. And, that’s for typical illumination. 

If you want your place to have more illumination, get brighter lights and make the pole higher. For example, you may space the poles about 30-40 feet apart and 2 LED parking lot light heads with 30,000 or 40,000 lumens each.

Why are LEDs a better option for parking lot lighting over traditional lights?

LEDs are brighter; LED street lights can typically generate the same amount of brightness as traditional lights while using half the amount of energy. The light in traditional lighting is omnidirectional, which means it shines in all directions. On the other hand, LEDs are directional, which means you can direct the light in the direction you want it to travel. That implies you can use LEDs to answer specific lighting demands that you couldn’t solve with traditional lamps. Giving you the opportunity to brighten dark spots you’ve never been able to reach previously.

Bonus Tip -

The widely used national codes generally do not include any parking lot lighting standards, but it’s always good to verify your local regulations. Some cities have set limits on lot lighting to minimize light pollution and light trespass, while others have set minimum parking lot light requirements for safety and security.

LED Parking Lot Lighting Tips for Car Dealerships

The lighting in a car dealership parking lot is more significant than you might believe. LED parking lot lighting is quickly becoming the clear best choice for various applications, including your car dealership’s parking lot. In addition, LED lights are without a doubt the most energy-efficient option currently available on the market. 

led parking lot lights

Why Choose LED Parking Lot Lighting?

Compared to traditional lighting, LED parking lot lights for car dealerships to have an unsurpassed lifespan and efficiency. LEDs are a considerably better financial investment because of their long lifespan, ease of use, and variety of control options, which will save you money in the long run while also giving you a better illuminated and more noticeable parking space.

The Following are five tips for maintaining LED parking lot lighting for car dealerships:

• Adequate Lighting

When illuminating a parking lot, the first step should be to ensure appropriate lighting, making the parking lot much safer for everyone.

Furthermore, adequate lighting will significantly complement the new cars, allowing the colors to shine brightly. Lighting will have a massive impact on how your customers share their opinions about your company and vehicles.

led parking lot lighting

And remember, it’s not just about having enough light, but it must also be equally spread around the parking lot for safety and security purposes. For example, it might be challenging to see and drive when light is not uniformly dispersed, leading to accidents. 

Ideally, you should try getting lights that switch on automatically when it gets dark. 

• Managing Extreme Weather

LED lighting emits a natural white light that illuminates the parking lot, dealership, and surroundings instead of an orange or yellow tint. In addition, the strength of LED illumination can shine through and offer broader protection of the lot; thus, “dark” places are becoming less common.

• Energy Efficiency

When enhancing the lighting in your parking lot, you should also consider an energy-efficient lighting option. Up to 13 hours each day, parking lot lights are illuminated. As a result, it’s straightforward to quickly burn through ordinary light bulbs and rack up high utility expenses.

led pole light

Investing in LED bulbs, which may decrease your energy use in half, is a more cost-effective and ecologically beneficial solution.

• Automate processes and save energy with control systems

Many car dealerships have lights on 24 hours a day, which, while beneficial for security and emphasizing your vehicles at all times of the day and night, can result in some pricey energy expenses. Combining the lights with a control system that automatically optimizes the lighting to use the lowest needed energy input is one way to offset some of these costs.

• Take into account the lighting height.

The height of your parking lot lighting is just as crucial as the fixtures you select. For example, if you choose a LED pole light that is too short, the light will be focused on a small area, requiring you to install more light fixtures to compensate, which will cost you more money. Using a light pole that is too tall, on the other hand, will cause the light to be too spread out, making it appear faint. 

Conclusion

The lights in your car dealership's parking lot should be as energy-efficient as possible. Keep in mind that your dealership will experience its fair share of nights, dark days, and inclement weather. LED lights will provide considerably more excellent light quality for much less money, making them a more cost-effective and superior option. In addition, the type and quality of criteria that go into the environment of your dealership’s parking lot will set the tone for professionalism and security for your dealership, image, and brand as a whole. 

4 Shopping Tips For Buying High Bay LED Light Fixtures

When a vast indoor space requires illumination, high bay LED lights are usually the best option. For example, consider manufacturing plants, gymnasiums, warehouses, enormous departmental shops, factories, and more. High Bay LED Light Fixtures structures are often large and span a considerable amount of vertical and horizontal space. This necessitates intense lighting to achieve the required foot-candle levels (one foot-candle equals one lumen per square foot).

The following are four shopping tips when looking to buy high bay LED lights:

• Determine the Height of the Ceiling

A ceiling must be at least 16 feet above the floor to be deemed high enough to require high bay lighting. If your roof is less than 16 feet high, standard lights can be used instead of high bay light fixtures.

• Calculate the Lumens and Watts Required

When selecting LED high bay lights, watts are significant, but lumens are even more crucial. This is because the total quantity of visible light generated by a light source is measured in lumens. 

New LEDs are being developed that require fewer watts to produce greater lumens as LED technology advances. Lumens, not watts, determine how bright a bulb is. Watts are solely used to describe how much electricity a light source uses. Consider where you'll be installing LED lights for high bay fixtures, as different wattages are advised for various applications.

• Select the Right Type of High Bay Lighting Fixture 

Carefully evaluate the many varieties of high bay lighting products available in a variety of styles. For example, there are linear high bay lights: which are long and enormous, UFO high bay lights that are spherical.

Linear high bays are ideal for replacing fluorescent tube lamps in large rooms. UFO high bays are similarly suitable for high ceilings, but they're more durable than linear fixtures and come in various IP ratings. And wide-angled linear high bays are ideal for applications with lower ceilings.

• Calculate Required Number of Light Fixtures

You can figure out how many LED lights you'll need once you figure out how far apart the fixtures must be to create appropriate illumination.

Conclusion

High Bay LED Lights provide some of the highest lumen outputs while using the fewest watts of energy. This means you may have a powerful, bright lighting solution without having to spend a lot of money on utilities. LED also gives you more choices in terms of color temperature and color rendering indexes. Don't get this wrong: fluorescent high bay lights and other types of lighting may still be excellent choices. But LED lighting, on the other hand, delivers the best quality of illumination and will be a better long-term investment.