Whether your commercial space is an office structure, storage facility, hospital, school, or retail mall, installing the right outdoor lighting will improve safety and visibility and further your brand. That is if it is performed correctly. For example, if your business is open at night, the right lighting from lighting design to light fixture installation will ensure that passersby as well as visitors understand your company has ‘presence’ as well as its purpose. For hospitals and schools, the right lighting choices will address visitor safety as well as guide them to their destination. For retailers and commercial offices, hiring the right outdoor electrician is crucial as lighting decisions and installations are key to their branding and will both showcase and advertise their business even after hours. In this posting, ACM Electrical Contracting, a leading outdoor lighting contractor in the TriState, offers these tips to enhance your outdoor lighting installation for optimal results.
Outdoor lighting must be weatherproof. ACM Electrical Contracting, which serves Manhattan and the 5 boroughs as an outdoor lighting company, notes that commercial properties especially can benefit from using various types of outdoor lighting such as wall packs, floodlights, canopy lighting, linear lighting, and lighting that is mounted on poles. Here are the most popular uses for these different light types:
- Wall packs: Installed against flat surfaces, as your outdoor electrician, ACM Electrical recommends using LED lighting which does not alter colors and is much longer lasting than incandescent or halogen lights. The average installation can range from 7,700 Lumens to 14,000 Lumens per wall unit.
- Floodlights are extremely popular and are used to project light on a specific target- such as your company signage.
- Canopy lighting is just that- the type of lighting used under outdoor canopies and is resistant to both rain and vibration. It is commonly used outside catering halls and hospital entrances.
- Linear lighting is used most often for parking areas due to its narrow yet elongated shape.
- Pole lighting is common in areas such as parking lots, along streets and roadways, loading docks, etc. It offers ‘light from a height’ and throws light on a subject.
When our clients consult ACM Electrical Contracting as their outdoor lighting contractor, they are often surprised to learn that we use moderation in our approach to their light fixture installation project. We are careful not to place too many lights in one area, instead, we opt for an approach that places lights evenly around an outdoor space for balance. In public spaces, too much lighting by an outdoor electrician will not only distract, but also create glare and eye fatigue. Less may not be more, but know the limit to ‘more’. The best outdoor lighting installations are unobtrusive. They get the job done without announcing themselves. (After all, Manhattan is not Las Vegas!) ACM Electrical Contracting will use glare shields and ‘eyelids’ on fixtures as needed to focus light where our clients want it for optimal effect. If you are planning an outdoor lighting upgrade for your business, we invite you to contact us with your questions.
