Street lights are the basic necessity of any place, as they always make us feel safe and secure. City municipalities, development authorities, architects, and town planners are given the responsibility of installing them on roads, parking lots, neighborhoods, and other places.
Technically, street lights do not serve the purpose of guiding the auto traffic, as vehicles always have their own headlights. However, street lights provide additional illumination, which is still helpful for all drivers. It helps them navigate through localities and their surroundings. Street lights also make it possible for drivers to notice any potential road hazards.
Proper lighting of streets is a basic need for all modern societies. It also works towards minimizing the crimes that generally happen at night. It is important for cities to adopt street lighting models that work continuously while being feasible in terms of costs.
LEDs have become the future of lighting systems, which is why you get to see them almost everywhere in cities and towns, be it on highways, streets, parking lots, and also in most public places. Nowadays, people are going for LEDs because they offer a lot of advantages when compared to traditional lighting systems.
Street light poles for LED bulbs
City planners will have to consider the landscape designs and aesthetics while planning the layouts for street lights. It helps to create a pleasant and classy ambiance to the place. If you don’t get it right with the designs, then the resulting output will be disappointing. You will also need to use the right height of poles to bring about the desired effects.
Parameters to consider for a perfect installation:
- Mounting height of lights
- Space maintained in between the light sources
- Outreach
- Geometry or pole dimensions
- Drag coefficient
The following are a few options available for street lighting:
- Tubular poles – These types of poles are used most commonly for the purpose of lighting up streets. You will have noticed them on various roads.
- Decorative poles – These types of poles are favored by most architects and designers. You can also get a wide range of varieties. Some sellers also give you options to customize them as per your design and creativity requirements.
- Octagonal – These are the latest types of poles that look sleek and classy. They don’t really require any maintenance and last for a long time, which is why they are used for many street-lighting projects.
You can also check out LEDLightExpert.com for information on designing your street lights. They offer a wide range of LED designs also offer custom solutions.
Few things that you must consider for street light pole installations.
Read this before you design your street lights in your area. The following are a few things that you must consider while selecting the poles.
1. Height
It is the most important factor in getting maximum lighting efficiency. The height of the poles basically determines the lighting distribution. Engineers will have to pay extra attention to the height of poles in order to get the best distribution on the ground level. Roads with fast-moving traffic will require longer poles for the higher elevation of LED lights.
2. Light consistency
The light consistency is very significant in terms of road safety. It is just like how your eyes will need a few seconds to adjust when you walk into a dark room. The same thing happens while you are driving comfortably on a street that is well-lit, and them abruptly finding yourself in a dark area. Therefore, the placements of light poles must be consistent to avoid such dark spots.
3. Consider the safety of pedestrians
There are some other factors that are responsible for dark spots on the streets. For example, shrubs by the roadside, large trees, huge buildings, the odd street turns, etc., can cause such dark spots. All such shadow making objects may suddenly appear on any residential streets or public walkways. All these things must be taken into account while designing the placement of lighting fixtures.
Biking is preferred by people who are conscious about the environment and ecology, as it does not involve the burning of fossil fuels. The street lights should be installed to meet all the safety standards of bikers so that they can navigate safely when natural visibility is poor.
4. Street light poles for aesthetics
In addition to practical purposes, street lights also help in creating desirable ambiances. The property value of places with well lit and ambient streets is by and large higher than underdeveloped areas. The beauty of landscapes, statues, fountains, gardens, and parks can be enhanced with street lighting.
Residents and business owners often demand proper street lighting, especially if the crime rates in their area are high. It helps to improve safety for people, and also acts as a deterrent to criminals.
5. Avoiding glare spots
Good lighting is undoubtedly meant for offering the best safety, but they can cause glares if they are not planned and placed properly. Such spots can become hazardous for pedestrians and drivers alike. The right numbers of lighting poles and optimal spacing will help in preventing such spots.
6. LED Street-light maintenance
Nowadays, LED lighting and fixtures are used in inmost projects. Photocells are also used for conserving energy. They can be configured to switch on and off automatically as per the requirements.
On average, street light is meant to run for about 10-12 hours every day, and the lifespan of LED bulbs is about 50,000 hours. If all the bulbs of a project are installed at the same time, then you can calculate the replacements accordingly.
You will need to spend less on light pole maintenance if you use good quality products. They will be resistant to rust and corrosion.
Role of the Street light poles
All of us know about the significance of having proper lighting for streets and highways. It is possible only with the right choices and proper installation of poles. They should be able to sustain harsh chromatic conditions.
