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LED Parking Lot Lights - What You Need to Know


If you are planning to install some LED Parking Lot Lights, you are making a smart choice. LED lights can offer many benefits for your parking lot, such as big energy savings, better light quality, increased visibility, and improved safety. They can also reduce the cost of maintenance and provide a safer source of light. However, selecting the right lighting for your parking lot can be challenging. There are various LED lights available with different wattages, mounts, kelvins, features, etc. To help you choose the best option for your parking lot, we have created this guide.


What are LED Parking Lot Lights?

A:LED Parking Lot Lights are parking lot light fixtures that use light emitting diode (LED) technology. The LED technology allows for considerable energy savings and better quality light.


Although we call them parking lot lights, they are really all-purpose area lights. We can use them for flood lighting or sports lighting applications too. The possible uses are kind of endless.

Here is a image of a arm mount parking lot light in white with dusk to dawn sensor on top;
parking lot light with direct mount white
 
Here is an image of a slip fit parking lot light in black shown with motion sensor
LED Parking lot light in black



Here is an actual install of the NextGen XT LED Parking Lot Lights at a hotel
parking lot lights


Reasons to Use LED Lights in Parking Lots


LED lights are a smart choice for parking lots because they offer many advantages over traditional HID lights. Some of the benefits of LED parking lot lights are: 

• Cost-Effectiveness: LED Parking Lot Lights are more economical in the long run. They can last up to 100,000 hours, significantly longer than the typical 20,000-hour lifespan of HID lights. This longevity translates into fewer replacements and reduced electricity costs, as a 300-watt LED light can effectively replace a 1000-watt HID light, providing the same level of brightness.

 • Energy Savings: LED lights are 70% more energy efficient than HID lights, which means that they consume less power and produce less heat. This reduces the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions of your parking lot. LED lights can also achieve up to 160 lumens per watt, which is a measure of how much light is produced per unit of power. The Nextgen 4 uses Bridgelux LED to achieve this high efficiency. 

• Superior Light Quality: LEDs boast a higher Color Rendering Index (CRI), showing the true colors of objects more accurately than HID lights. While HID lights often cast a yellowish or orange hue, LEDs provide a natural white light, free from buzzing or flickering (low total harmonic distortion), enhancing visual comfort and safety.

• Modern Design: The sleek and contemporary design of LED Parking Lot Lights enhances the aesthetic appeal of parking lots. Unlike the bulky and outdated appearance of HID lights, LEDs offer a variety of shapes and sizes to match different architectural styles.

• Low Maintenance: Requiring little to no maintenance for up to 20 years, LED Parking Lot Lights eliminate the hassle of frequent ballast or bulb changes. They also offer greater control over brightness and direction, adaptable to various requirements, such as municipal lighting codes or reducing light pollution, a flexibility absent in HID lighting.

 • Safety: LED Parking Lot Lights can improve the safety of your parking lot by providing adequate and uniform illumination. Parking lots that are not well lit can be dangerous for drivers, pedestrians, and customers. They can also attract crimes and vandalism. Having LED lights in your parking lot will make people feel safer and more likely to visit your business. LED lights also work well with CCTV cameras, as they can capture clear images in case of an incident.

• Enhanced Safety: Providing consistent and adequate illumination, LED Parking Lot Lights enhance safety, reducing hazards for drivers, pedestrians, and customers. Well-lit parking lots deter crimes and vandalism and are more inviting to visitors. Additionally, LEDs complement CCTV systems by enabling clearer image capture, essential in security incidents.

In summary, LED lights present a superior option for parking lots, combining cost savings, energy efficiency, and aesthetic appeal with improved safety and low maintenance requirements. They represent a smart investment for any business looking to enhance its parking facilities.

Designing Your Parking Lot Light Layout


This is a biggie and may be too hard to explain in a few paragraphs. Many of our designers have spent years in classes, but here we go. First we look at a retrofit versus new build;


1. Existing lights, just replacing

If you have lights in the lot or area already and they are generally well laid out then here are the replacement wattages to use

What are the replacement wattages for LED Parking Lot Lights?

A:To replace old HID parking lot lights with LED, here are the recommended conversions; 1500 watt metal halides or HPS require about 60,000 lumens. Look at Lights with 500 watts of actual LED power. 1000 watt metal halides or HPS require about 45,000 lumens so look at Lights with 300 watts. 400 watt metal halide led replacement is about 20,000 lumens or 150 watt LED models. 250 watt Metal halide or HPS LED replacement is about 10,000 lumens so look for a 90-100 watt.


2. New Installations;
Let's start with a reminder; we can do a computer photo study plan for free for you. For complicated layouts or where you may need to do permitting or getting approval from a board or group, these are usually required.  Call one of experts to get started.


How Many Lights to a Pole Must Be Installed?
Another factor that you need to consider is how many lights should be installed on a pole. The best choice is to have 2 LED light fixtures per pole. However, if you want the area to be extra bright, you can go for up to 4 lights per pole.


Spacing of Parking Lot Poles

When installing LED lights for parking lots, one of the important factors to consider is the spacing of the poles. The spacing of the poles depends on several variables, such as the height of the poles, the size and power of the fixtures, the brightness and uniformity requirements, and the local codes and regulations.

Generally speaking, the higher the poles, the larger and stronger the fixtures you can use, and the farther apart you can space them. However, there are also some drawbacks to using very high poles, such as potential light pollution, wind resistance, and aesthetic issues. Therefore, you need to find a balance between height and spacing that suits your specific needs and preferences.

To help you with your planning, here are some rough guidelines for spacing of parking lot poles based on different heights and applications:

•  For residential and small commercial parking lots with poles at 15-20 feet high, you can use fixtures that produce 12,000 to 18,000 lumens each and space them 20 to 30 feet apart. You can also use two fixtures per pole for better coverage and distribution.

•  For medium-sized commercial parking lots with poles at 20-25 feet high, you can use fixtures that produce 20,000 to 30,000 lumens each and space them 30 to 40 feet apart. You can also use different beam angles to adjust the light spread and direction.

•  For large-scale or industrial parking lots with high mast poles at 25-35 feet high, you can use fixtures that produce 30,000 to 70,000 lumens each and space them 40 to 50 feet apart. You can also use different mounting options and accessories to optimize the light performance and efficiency.

Light Poles
For actual light poles we created a whole outdoor pole light info page for that.   Lots of things to consider for outdoor lighting including height, round or square, color, gauge and even EPA

Light Pattern & Distribution Type
See our article on parking lot light coverage charts for more, but in this photograph of an office building we can see the lights start near the building and are spaced about 12 car spots apart. At 7ft each that is about 84ft apart. With a T3 light distribution pattern that will work just fine. For a retail setting you would be closer to 50ft and maybe 4 lights per pole.  We also can do T2 to T5 patterns as needed.

parking lot layout

How Much Wattage Do I Need?

The first thing you need to consider is the wattage. LED lights provide more lumen output per watt. This is what matters for efficient lighting. You can get LED lights that offer different lumen output. If you want the light to cover 15 to 20 feet, it is best to look for 16,000 to 20,000 lumens. On the other hand, if you want to cover 20 to 30 feet, 40,000 lumen light is a good choice.

Cross Over Lighting

It is beneficial to have cross over lighting. The light coming from various directions reduces the shadows and balances the lighting. Having a lower lumen fixture, but use more of them, provides better lighting.


How to Choose Lumens for LED Parking Lot Lights?

A:Here are some examples of lumens for led parking lot lights;1000 watt metal halides require about 40,000 to 50,000 lumens. Look at a LED Parking Lot Light with 300 watts. When you are looking for 400 watt metal halide led replacement you should look at 150 watt models. For the 400 watt replacement you will be needing 16,000 lumens to 22,000 lumens. For 250 watt metal halide model, you should look at 9000 to 12000 lumens. For 150 watt or 175 watt, you should consider lumens 7000 to 9000. This is a 50-80 watt light.


Metal Halide to LED Parking Lot Replacement Guide


If you are looking for a way to upgrade your parking lot lighting from metal halide (MH) lamps to LED lamps, you need to consider the lumen output, wattage, and efficiency of both types of lamps. Lumen output is the measure of how much light a lamp produces, wattage is the measure of how much power a lamp consumes, and efficiency is the measure of how much light a lamp produces per watt of power.

LED lamps are more energy-efficient, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly than MH lamps. They can produce the same or better amount of light with less power consumption and less heat generation. They also have better color rendering and light distribution than MH lamps.

To replace your MH lamps with LED lamps, you need to match the lumen output of the LED lamps with the lumen output of the MH lamps. You do not need to match the wattage of the LED lamps with the wattage of the MH lamps, because LED lamps have higher efficiency and can produce more lumens per watt than MH lamps.

Here are some examples of how to replace different wattages of MH lamps with LED lamps for your parking lot lighting:

•  For 1000-watt MH lamps, you need LED lamps that produce 30,000 to 60,000 lumens. You can choose a 300 watt LED Parking Lot Light

•  For 400-watt MH lamps, you need LED lamps that produce 12,000 to 20,000 lumens. You can choose a 150-watt models.

•  For 250-watt MH lamps, you need LED lamps that produce 9,000 to 12,000 lumens. You can choose a 100 watt LED model or also consider LED corn light bulbs as a good solution.

•  For 150-watt or 175-watt MH lamps, you need LED lamps that produce 7,000 to 9,000 lumens. You can choose from 50-watt models fixture or light bulb.


Kelvin, Mounts, Photocells and Other Considerations


Once you know how many fixtures and what wattage you need, you need to consider some final options. Kelvin is the light color, mounts are how it will secure to the pole and a photocell can turn the light off during the day, also known as a dusk to dawn sensor.


Which Kelvin (Color Temperature )to Choose for LED Parking Lot Lights?

A:LED lights are available in various colors.. They are: 3000K - warm white, similar to a bedroom light this can be great for churches or businesses that do not care for the daylight look. 4000K – a natural white light. This is a sharper light that replicates the daylight. It is suitable for business or other areas of work. 5000K – this a white light that is best for large spaces and outdoors. 5000K is the recommended and most popular color. 5700K - blueish tint that must be used carefully. Gas stations and areas that want to draw lots of attention.
However, we strongly recommend not to use higher color temperature lights than these. The American Medical Association has warned against 5700K and 6500K. They state they are harmful to both humans and environment.


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What are the different mount types for LED Parking Lot Lights?

A:Different LED lights mount in different ways. Here are some of the common types of mounting options for parking lot pole lights.


Slip Fit Mount 
Slip Fit Mount LED Parking Lot Lights are the most common type of mount that slides over a standard light pole up to 2 3/8 inch. The head is adjustable, which makes it great mount type. It uses side bolts to secure it to the pole.  Here is a picture of a slip fit shown from the bottom.
LED parking lot light shown with slip fit mount open at bottom
Arm Mount

Arm mount are designed to fit any requirement of the LED light. They look the cleanest and can be bolted straight to a pole. There is no need of an adapter for the arm mount. In this image you can see the mount, the center bar goes inside the pole and the light secures to it;
LED parking lot light arm mount white

Flood Mount
Flood Mount lights have a wide side to side bracket that allows for full tilt up and down. These are commonly used on walls, roofs or for signage. They can also be used on wood telephone poles. They are typically too wide for metal poles.  Here is a picture of a flood mount, where the rear U shaped mount works great on walls or roofs.
flood mount on parking lot light

Yoke Mount 
Another type of mount that is available is the yoke mount. It is highly functional for certain applications, but you need to be sure you can mount it securely. Even the smaller lights are 12lbs and can go up above 35lbs, so yoke mounts can get strained. If going to a solid metal or wood surface then its fine, but otherwise, use a wall mount bracket and slip fit light instead.   here is an image of a yoke mount, you can see the two mount points on either side;
yoke mount light


What size pole does a slip fit mount go over

A: slip fit mount is designed to go over a tenon which is a round 2.38 inch(2 3/8") circular pole. The can fit from 2 to 2.38 inch tubes. This is a lighting industry standard size.


Luri LED Parking lot light slip fit shown with dimension diagram


What is a photocell in a parking lot light?

A:Photocell is a dusk to dawn sensor ensuring the light turns off during the day. It is usually a 3 prong blue cap on the top of the light in standard voltage or yellow in high voltage. A black shorting bypass cap may be used to bypass the photocell for use with a timer or on off switch. NEMA also allows for 5 and 7 prong versions for additional features including dimming.


In the picture below, you can see the slip fit mount and its ability to be angled at different directions. Also the blue caps in these lights are the photocells.
commercial parking lot lights


Do I need a dusk to dawn sensor( photocell) in a parking lot light?

A:Photocell is a dusk to dawn sensor and can ensure the lights are only on at night. If using with a digital timer that accounts for daylight savings and time of year, then the photocell is not needed. For basic timers it may be a good idea to use both as the photocell can still save energy and money.


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We offer you the best LED lights for all kinds of industrial lighting especially parking lot lights. We can do so brighten up your parking lot now with our LED lights. With our low price guarantees, expert design consultation and top rated lights; we cannot be beat. Call one of our experts today.


Actual Install at Kia North American Headquarters


parking lot lights installed

About the Author: About Dara Greaney on LinkedInWikipedia or Twitter.  Editing by David Peguero.
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