Parking Lot Lights – Tips to Make Your Retrofit Hassle-Free
When you are retrofitting for LED parking lot lights, you can immediately see the payback on the investment. The installation can be strenuous, usually requiring special equipment like a lift or even a short closed-off period for the area. But the cost of keeping your parking area lights up with the right amount of light is important, and you want to be effective as well as efficient. Here are a few things that you can do to make your retrofit easier.
Checking Installation Conditions and Specifications
Before the big retrofit, you want to be prepared for everything. So it is important to make preparations beforehand and make a checklist to verify all installation conditions and specifications. This means discussing things first with your installer and lighting specialist beforehand to make sure all the specifics of the product and the installation is understood. There are specific things you should also check with your installer so that you are assured that he knows the details. This includes voltage, wattage, ballast, and pole height.
Checking Parking Lot Conditions
Preparation beforehand also means checking your site and making sure that it is in the right condition for a retrofit. This means checking the distance between your poles, the height of all your poles, any obstacles to poles (tree branches, sloping areas), the schedule of the nearby buildings, and the schedule of the incoming and outgoing traffic. It is important to check all these out beforehand before the retrofit for LED parking lot lights even begins.
Checking Special Lighting Conditions
It is also important to check if your site or your fixtures have special parts that need to be dealt with. For instance, you need to check if your fixtures have photocells. Photocells could make your retrofit difficult, and you need to know if your installer will have to deal with that condition. You also have to know if these things have an added cost and if the installer has the right equipment to deal with it.
Extra Installation Equipment
You should also prepare to bring extra equipment just in case it is needed. This means possibly bringing in extra LED drivers to the job site. Parking lot LED light drivers are most likely the cause of LED fixture failures, and not the diode. So bringing extra LED lighting drivers on the site to replace them in your fixture could save you a lot of time, and a lot of money in service orders. If LED parking lot lights driver fails after installation, this could mean hiring a new crew, and renting another lift out, for a new order at the job site. Having these on hand during the installation could save your extra costs and time.
Additional Installments
While you are doing your retrofit, it is also a good idea to try to install additional features on your light fixtures. This could be anything from extra lamp structures, to installing surge protectors. Adding surge protectors can protect your fixtures. This could save you a lot of money in the long run, especially if you have high-dollar light fixtures. The retrofitting installation electrical contractor or lighting specialist can easily help in the installation of surge protectors to your fixtures.
Choose the Right Manufacturer
Choosing the right LED manufacturer is possibly the most important preparation you can make before retrofitting your parking lot. This isn’t just for your parking lot, but this could lead to other deals in lighting your garage or any exterior in your business. Look at the track record of each manufacturer and what they bring to the table. Also, make sure that you choose manufacturers with proven products and good standing in the market.
Beta Test
Before any big project, it is also important to the mockup. This principle also applies to retrofitting your parking lot. Beta-testing the product for each application is important. It is also important to do all your beta-testing before the actual retrofitting so you can see what you want to change and what you want to improve. You want to make sure you have the right lux, the right brightness, and if the lights are too warm or too cool. Once the retrofit is done, it will take a lot of time, effort, and money to redo everything, so it is important to beta test one fixture with LED parking lot lights ahead of time before moving forward with the project.
