RV Storage Facility Commercial Lighting Project

Our client was an RV storage facility in rural California who needed a new area lighting system. They initially located us online and contacted us with some special considerations they were hoping that a firm like ours could accommodate. Because they wanted to retain as many parking places for RV's as possible, they wanted the system to be designed with a minimum number of lighting poles that would have to be placed only at certain points within the parking areas and around the perimeter. They also stated they preferred to have general RV storage area lighting and security lighting.

Our client was fortunate not to have strict light pollution laws to contend with. Because they were located in a rural area, there were no dark sky or light trespass laws that we were required to observe, and wind speeds were average and virtually inconsequential to the overall technical design of the project.

Design Considerations

In order to accommodate our client’s request that we limit lighting pole count within the facility, we had to find a way to precisely calculate optimal pole height for area coverage. Since the client wanted their area lighting to also provide security for the RV's and surrounding grounds, we also had to factor into our calculations a regulatory minimum of 1 foot candle.

Furthermore, because we know that growth is inevitable in such areas, we proactively anticipated a time in the near future when light trespass laws might come into effect that would subsequently require a redesign of the rv storage facility’s area lighting system. We decided to develop a system that would direct the widest possible beam into the facility’s interior without violating the boundaries of the property in the process.

Photometric Analysis Software Helped Us To Accommodate Client Special Request With A Custom RV Storage Lighting System

These design considerations required precise calculations and the ability to model hypothetical systems in a 3d environment. Using our photometric analysis software, we first calculated pole height. All things considered relative to the actual rv storage area, lighting for security along the perimeter, and foot candle minimum codes, we determined that 30’ steel, round tapered poles would be best for this project.

Also, since we had already been asked to combine general lighting and security lighting for rv storage, our photometric calculations determined that a footcandle level of 2.3 would be much better suited to the dual nature of the system than the 1 foot-candle minimum required by law. This proposed, higher luminance level would actually allow us to place more light into the rv storage area with fewer poles and fixtures.

Final System Installed

The entire system was installed using only full cutoff fixtures on both interior and exterior poles. To concentrate the light toward the facility’s interior, and to prevent it from spilling beyond the parking lot, we fitted each perimeter light pole with a single 400w metal halide luminaire to minimize light spillage. Interior poles were fitted with dual 400w metal halide fixtures with type v optics designed to give the largest and distribution of lighting throughout all of the RV storage area.

Knowing that the community would eventually grow, these additional measures provided our client with an aesthetic safeguard that would professionally showcase their facility in the best possible light for many years to come.