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How bright should a parking lot light be?

How bright should a parking lot light be?

We usually recommend two LED Parking lot lighting heads of 20,000 lumens each at about 15-20 feet high on each pole. That is average lighting. Go brighter and higher if you want your space more illuminated If you go up to 30 feet and do 2 light heads at 30,000 or 40,000 each, you can space the poles 30-40 feet apart.

How many lumens do you need to light a parking lot?

If you want the light to cover 15 to 20 feet it is best to look for 16000 to 20000 lumens. On the other hand, if you want to cover 20 to 30 feet, 40,000 lumen light is an ideal choice.

Do parking lot lights need ground rods?

Does the NEC require a connection of a parking lot lighting pole to a ground rod? A. No, but metal poles used for the support of luminaires are required to be connected to an equipment grounding conductor of a type recognized in 250.118 [410.30(B)(5)].

How is parking lot lighting measured?

The metric used to measure illuminance in the U.S. is the footcandle (fc), which is one lumen per square foot. The corresponding metric system unit is one lux (lx), which is one lumen per square meter. One footcandle is approximately equal to 10 lux.

What kind of lights are in parking lots?

Most parking lot lights utilize one of three types of lamps: high intensity discharge (HID) lamps such as metal halide, high pressure sodium, and – if they are very old – mercury vapor lamps.

How many foot candles should be in a parking lot?

20D. 90.10-050 Open-Air Parking Lot Lighting.

Basic1 Enhanced Security2
Minimum Footcandles on Pavement3 0.2 fc 0.5 fc
Maximum Footcandles on Pavement 4.0 fc 7.5 fc
Uniformity Ratio Maximum:Minimum4 20:1 15:1
Minimum Footcandles at five (5) feet Above Pavement5 0.1 fc 0.25 fc

How many lights do I need for my parking lot?

use 2 to 4 light fixtures per pole. A 20 ft. pole is ideal for a medium to large-sized parking lot. Each pole can be fixed with 2-4 light fixtures.

How do you ground a pole?

hammer the top of the rod with a 5 pound hammer or small sledge hammer. As the rod is driven down, you may need to descend the ladder for the best angle to drive it. Once the rod is within a few inches of the ground, you can stop.

What voltage are parking lot lights?

480 volt
A 480 volt parking lot light is a high voltage parking light that works when parking lot lights are wired for such. Engineers use higher voltage because it lowers the amps needed (amps = watts/voltage) so higher the voltage the lower the amps.

What is the NEC scope for parking lot lighting?

First level subdivision 90.2 (A) addresses what the NEC covers, and list item (2) includes “parking lots,” which encompasses parking lot lighting. The NEC scope is challenged in many different ways. There are electric utilities that creatively state they are “selling lumens” and are permitted to install parking lot lighting.

What is the minimum illumination level in a parking lot?

** Maximum Illumination Level (in footcandles “fc”) at the brightest spot on the parking area surface. *** Minimum Uniformity Ratio is no less than 15:1.

What are the FEMP requirements for parking lot lights?

FEMP REQUIREMENTS FOR PARKING LOT LUMINAIRES. Outdoor pole/arm-mounted area and roadway luminaires must have an LER of 65 to be FEMP-designated (as of the date of this publication; the most current value as well as FEMP-designated products can be found at Covered Product Category: Exterior Lighting).

Can an electric utility install parking lot lighting?

However, an electric utility can install parking lot lighting if it is installed in accordance with all applicable NEC requirements and other local regulations, which typically include a licensed electrical contractor, permits and electrical inspections.

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