Bright lightning for outdoor parking lot

[jackbauer]

Hello,

I am looking for a good affordable lighting solution for outdoor parking lot. Want to make sure it is bright mostly and not crazy expensive. Any ideas and where can I get a good price on it. Thanks in advance🙂

 

[egghead2004]

How big is the lot?
How do you plan on mounting the lights poles or trees?
How many fixtures do you plan on mounting?
Does color temp matter? (orange/yellow/white)?
Do you want a high efficiency lighting?

This will help the members help you make your decision.

Thanks

 

[jackbauer]

How big is the lot? (200 feet by 70 feet)
How do you plan on mounting the lights poles or trees? (can mount on tree, building, or pole)
How many fixtures do you plan on mounting? (as many as it takes to get the whole lot lighted nicely)
Does color temp matter? (orange/yellow/white)? (prefer white)
Do you want a high efficiency lighting? (does not matter as long as light is bright and shows up nicely. lights will only be on 2 hours)

This will help the members help you make your decision.

Thanks

 

[Ken_McE]

I would suggest you look into High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. Your initial cost is higher than if you use incandescent, but your total cost of ownership is lower.

Candidates:

Sodium lights

Mercury lights

Metal Halide

 

[idleprocess]

I would suggest you look into High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. Your initial cost is higher than if you use incandescent, but your total cost of ownership is lower.

Candidates:

Sodium lights

Mercury lights

Metal Halide

Sodium lamps are decidedly yellow-orange.

Mercury-vapor lamps are all but phased out.

Metal Halide are a florescent-like white.


Compact florescent is also an option for outdoor area lighting. Efficiencies tend not to be as good as arc lamps, but initial cost is lower and they're still better than incandescent.

 

[egghead2004]

If you want white, then Metal Halide fixtures will give you that. 1/2 dozen 100 watt or four 250 watt lights should do it. Here is one I found on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/250-Watt-Metal-Halide-PS-Parking-Lot-Flood-Light-B_W0QQitemZ190497109085QQcategoryZ26219QQcmdZViewItem

Or experiment with high power LEDs, with a reflector you can really target your light and use less energy. Cool white, Neutral white and "halogen" white are available. That's what I'm working on for my outdoor lighting needs.

 

[Ken_McE]

A few minor comments:


Mercury-vapor lamps are all but phased out.

You're right, scratch them.


Compact florescent is also an option for outdoor area lighting. Efficiencies tend not to be as good as arc lamps, but initial cost is lower and they're still better than incandescent.

Could be iffy if he's in a cold climate. The biggest CFLs I've seen are around 13" long, 80 watts, roughly the lumens of a 300~400 watt incan. He'd need kind of a lot of them to light his property.


Or experiment with high power LEDs, with a reflector you can really target your light and use less energy... That's what I'm working on for my outdoor lighting needs.

My guess is that he doesn't have the budget or the expertise to go this way for this project.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Another vote for Metal Halide bulbs. You get a lot of bang for the buck because it's so white compared to sodium or mercury vapor - it illuminates shubbery as well as humans and other objects. Replacement bulbs are relatively easy to find and lifetime is quite good.