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Having a well-lit parking lot is essential to keep your property safe and accessible, but if you have a small parking lot, it can be difficult to find the right lighting solution. Fortunately, solar lights are an ideal option for small parking lots, offering a simple and budget-friendly way to shed light on the area.
Before installing any solar lights, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the basics of solar lighting. Solar lights are powered by solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity. This electricity is then used to power LEDs, offering an energy-efficient alternative to traditional light sources.
SEPCO worked with an engineering firm in Virginia to complete a small parking lot and alleyway lighting project. The customer had a good idea of where they wanted the lights to be installed; however, our lighting engineer was able to use the provided setup and adjust, lowering the number of poles required for the complete project.
There were a number of revisions completed for this project because of property boundaries and ensuring the light didn’t spill into adjacent assets. With a few revisions, we were able to show how moving the lights around can prevent the light to spill over to the adjacent properties and only illuminating this parking lot and alleyway.
The parking lot is fully illuminated using four single-head pole lights and one double-head pole light. Each fixture is 30 Watts and uses multiple distribution profiles to fully cover the parking lot area. The project features our SolarViper system with fixtures mounted 18’ above grade using the 24” side of pole tenon brackets and a 20’ steel galvanized anchor base pole. The customer had above-grade foundations created to add a little extra height.
The alleyway is illuminated using two 15 Watt SolarRWL wall pack fixtures mounted on the building with the solar power assembly mounted on the roof. The roof-mounted solar system has a 45° bracket that allows the solar panel to increase its solar capture during the day and prevent snow accumulation in the winter months. The battery assembly is remotely mounted nearby, and the conduit is run between all components for wiring.
Each light operates from dusk at full output for 8 hours, then reduce to 50%, back to full 1 hour before dawn. The operation allows for the most active times to be fully illuminated while reducing the output in the middle of the night for a few hours when pedestrian traffic is minimal. Since the project is in Virginia, during the summer months, the lights will operate all night long with little to no reduced operation, while in the winter months, the reduced operation will be less than half the night.
Have a parking lot in need of lighting? Reach out to our team of lighting specialists at 772-220-6615 or fill out our quote request form, and someone will email you in return. Not quite ready, check out our Ultimate Guide to Solar Parking Lot Lights and learn how solar can work for your next project.
