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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.