If you have a commercial property to manage, then you will undeniably have a lot on your plate. Among other things, you will have to think about ensuring proper outdoor lighting, as it plays a major role not only in appearance, but also in the safety and the functionality of your property. Whether you are managing an industrial facility, a parking lot, a retail center, an office complex, a school campus, a public park, or anything else, you will surely have to think long and hard about the lighting system, and make sure that you’re installing a great one that will provide security, visibility, efficiency, as well as long-term reliability.
Here is also a nice read on how important and great it can be for your business: https://vocal.media/journal/7-reasons-commercial-properties-rely-on-outdoor-lighting-services
As you may have guessed it, there are some purposes that commercial outdoor lighting serves that go beyond basic illumination. To cut right to the chase, a properly designed system can help improve property security, pedestrian safety, parking lot visibility, employee safety, as well as liability reduction. Not to mention that it can have a positive impact on customer experience and your overall brand appearance. So, those modern systems nowadays have to balance efficiency, performance, sustainability, as well as aesthetics.
Now, we cannot deny the fact that solar-powered commercial lighting has become increasingly popular in recent years, given that it offers energy savings, easier installation, as well as sustainability benefits, and, of course, reduced operating costs. Yet, even if you want to go for the solar option, that doesn’t mean that your work is done, and that you have no more choices to make. In short, no matter what option you want to go for, choosing the outdoor lighting for your commercial property requires you to think about much more than simply selecting the fixtures.
And, if you are ready to learn a bit more about what it is that you have to take into account and how it is that you can make the right choice, then you have come to the right place. After all, we have gathered some tips offered by a solar lighting company, Solar Lighting International, about how it is that you can select the right solutions for your commercial property. Once you read through those, you are sure to get a better idea about what to do in this process and how to make the very best choices for yourself. So, without much more ado, let us get started.
Determine the Needs of Your Property
There is absolutely no denying the fact that choosing the right commercial lighting system requires some careful planning. And, of course, what you must do first is think about the specific needs of your property, as those are bound to differ from one to another. For instance, while a parking lot has to prioritize security and visibility, retail centers are sure to focus more on customer experience, while industrial sizes will have to keep worker safety in mind. The point is that those needs will differ, so you should start the process by identifying the primary purpose of your system, as that will ultimately help guide your system design and fixture selection. This could perhaps also help you choose.
How can you determine your needs specifically, though? Well, you will have to answer some important questions. First of all, think about whether security is the top priority, or if aesthetic enhancement may be the goal. Then, decide if energy savings are important to you, as well as whether you need the lighting to operate at night. And, of course, consider the location of your commercial property as well, since that is bound to also have an impact on your choice.
Evaluate the Brightness Requirements
People often tend to assume that brighter is always better, which is why they don’t really care too much about this aspect, and that can result in making the wrong choices. Another important tip coming from a solar lighting company, thus, is that you should always think about those brightness requirements carefully before deciding on anything. After all, over-lighting can create glare, uneven visibility, light pollution, as well as higher costs. On the other hand, under-lighting can reduce safety and visibility.
Your task, therefore, is to carefully plan this. Consider foot-candle requirements, pole spacing, beam angled, property layout, uniform light distribution and similar. Of course, when you partner up with the right lighting company, they will perform photometric analyses to determine the ideal brightness level and fixture placement for you.
Security and Safety Have to Be Considered
I have hinted at this a couple of times, but it still deserves to be considered in more details. To cut right to the chase, security is absolutely one of the most important functions of outdoor commercial lighting, as proper lighting can help reduce vandalism, reduce trespassing, as well as improve surveillance visibility, enhance pedestrian safety and lower accident risk. And, Solar Lighting International also shares an important tip, saying that there are areas that require special attention when it comes to security and safety, which is something you shouldn’t take for granted. Those include parking lots, walkways, building entrances, stairway, loading docks, as well as perimeter fencing. So, some features such as motion sensors, dusk-to-dawn controls, as well as smart monitoring systems could definitely help further improve security performance.
Fixture Durability Matters
Since we are talking about commercial outdoor lighting systems, I suppose it is clear already that those often have to withstand some quite harsh environmental conditions. So, the fixtures can be exposed to all kinds of elements, such as rain, snow, extreme heat, high winds, salt air, dust, UV exposure and similar. Thus, you should prioritize fixture durability, and go for those systems that are designed for commercial use specifically.
Consider Maintenance Needs
Here is the final tip shared by this solar lighting company. Basically, you have to think about long-term maintenance, as the costs of maintenance are sure to impact the total lifetime costs of your system. So, make sure to talk about this to your provider, so as to know what to expect in terms of maintenance needs and costs over time.
