By Kimberly Quang

A small retail center in Ohio on a modest budget contacted RLLD Commercial Lighting seeking a parking lot lighting system that would provide illumination for customer parking, employee parking, and a drive through area for a small restaurant. The parking lot itself was quite small, so poles had to be positioned in a way that did not take up what available space was available for customers of the retail center. Lighting was intended primarily for general illumination with no special considerations for light pollution or dark sky laws needing to be factored into the design. The owner of the retail center had a limited budget and needed a solution that would meet these requirements without excessive costs.

Parking lot Lighting Design Considerations

Because the client was on a budget, it was not feasible to recommend a separate set of fixtures for retail security. Lighting for the parking lot would have to meet foot candle minimums for both parking and pedestrian traffic and be distributed in such a way as to provide a bright, yet glare free environment conducive to safety. Retail lighting for the employee parking area behind the center would have to be done with the fewest number of fixtures and poles possible in order to stay within the client’s budget. The brightest light for the retail center would be in and around the restaurant drive through.

Photometric Analysis Software Helped Us Develop A Custom Parking Lot Lighting System Unique To This Challenging Environment

Coming up with a retail lighting proposal that would meet the different levels of luminance was not the main challenge. The main challenge was doing so in a way as to maximize parking space, minimize glare and light pollution, and limit the amount of fixtures and poles to a reasonable number the client could afford. Using a CAD sent to us by the owner of the retail center, we modeled a number of lighting variables using our photometric software. We experimented with variables such as the number of fixtures, types of mounts, pole heights, wattages, and optics. Eventually, we arrived at a final proposal that distributed 2-3 candles of light around the retail parking areas (both storefront and employee parking in the rear) and 5 foot candles of light for the restaurant drive through area.

Final Parking Lot Lighting System Proposed

We chose the most efficient equipment possible to make the most of a limited number of fixtures. In both the customer and employee parking areas, we used 25′ poles mounted on 3′ concrete bases. The bases were intended to proved additional height for the lighting poles and to buffer against accidental vehicle collisions. This provided the poles not only with impact resistance, but a slightly higher elevation from which to deliver maximum beam spread. We mounted Type V fixtures to give the widest beam spread possible (directed toward the interior of the parking lot) and to also provide security lighting for all parking areas and store fronts facing the parking lot. Drive through lighting was done with full cutoff wall packs to provide desired luminance of 5 foot candles with a minimum of light spillage and glare.

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