Commercial Street Lighting

1
Commercial Street Lighting

• Whether or not you keep your business open at
  night, the side facing the street will need to be
  lit. If you have a small or large building, you
  will still need to find commercial street
  lighting to brighten your facade. Besides the
  many different styles and types of commercial
  street lighting there are also as many pieces of
  hardware and accessories to gather before you
  begin installation.

2

• Due to the public nature of streets and roadways,
  anytime you install something along them, such as
  lifestyle commercial street lighting poles, you
  will need to get permission from the authorities.
  This will require proper planning and procurement
  of local municipal codes and forms. It might be
  best to consult with a local electrician to
  verify the exact procedure to take when cutting
  through the red tape at city hall before you dig
  your first post hole. It will be likely that you
  will have to submit job specifications such as
  the size and brightness of the area lights, as
  well as their number and style. These decisions
  should be made before the first paper is filed.
  It will make the process of gaining permission
  that much smoother. The last thing that you will
  want will be a citation because you forgot to
  submit the correct paperwork for your commercial
  lifestyle double street lighting poles. City
  codes vary so it will be best to inquire at your
  city hall, or with local contractors who
  frequently have to undergo this procedure
  themselves.

3

• Once you have gained permission to install your
  commercial street lighting, you will need to
  consider how to mount the light poles. More
  information about how to choose the correct pole
  for your street lights can be found from the
  manufacturer. If you are using steel or concrete
  light poles, there are three main ways which this
  can be done. The easiest and most common is an
  embedment. This requires sinking the pole into a
  gravel lined hole. A simple embedding of your
  light poles will enable you to quickly mount
  several poles without additional steps. The other
  types of pole mounting accessories are base plate
  and anchor bolts. With base plate, you use a
  pre-poured concrete foundation for the pole

4

• while direct burial work well at ground level, as
  they enable the pole to be built up higher than
  ground level. The type of mounting for your
  commercial street lighting will dictate the
  length of street light pole you need. For
  embedment, for example, the length of the pole
  will be how high you want the light to be above
  the ground, plus 10 of that, plus an additional
  two feet. This assures that you will have enough
  of the pole in the ground to ensure its
  stability.

5

• After installing the poles, you need to install
  the lights. Keep in mind your climate. Extremely
  cold places, where temperatures might reach below
  zero can have an effect on the performance of all
  types of lamps, except incandescent. You will
  need to have the proper ballast in your
  commercial street lighting to offset this effect.
  Energy efficient bulbs such as fluorescents are
  good options to save on electric bills. They also
  last longer, requiring less service to change the
  bulbs. You could choose halogens, fluorescents,
  metal halides, or high pressure sodium lights.
  Each of these has its own characteristics, so it
  is best to ask an expert if you are not sure
  which is best for your needs.

6

• Installing commercial street lighting on wood
  poles can be simple, just be certain that you
  follow all the local laws in the requirements for
  your street lights. Keeping city hall happy can
  make your project that much easier.