Proper illumination outdoors is important for a variety of reasons, depending on the activity in a given space.

Outdoor Fields

It¹s natural to want to choose the lowest bid to install new lighting, but it may result in higher system operating and maintenance costs. Keep in mind the following suggestions to ensure you get the best lighting system for the money. One factor to keep in mind is light trespass, which is caused when light spills beyond the property boundaries of an outdoor recreational facility onto neighboring property. It can be a source of great annoyance to neighbors, and a very serious safety hazard for traffic on adjacent roadways. Standard H.I.D. lamps are very sensitive to the aiming angle, or tilt of the floodlight. As lamps are tilted at various angles, there is a resultant reduction in the light output. The Keene RecFlood is an excellent example of a floodlight designed for recreational and sports applications. Its patented design puts the lamp in a base-up vertical position, which allows it to operate at 100% efficiency, as opposed to 88% for most typical sports floodlights.

Parking Areas

In outdoor parking areas, your employees, contractors, and customers need to be able to get to their vehicles without fear of injury from running into or tripping over unseen objects, unexpected debris, ice or other hazards. For the sake of personal safety, parking lots should be very uniformly illuminated to eliminate shadows or dark corners where such hazards can lie in wait. Specially designed area lighting fixtures, such as Wide-Lite's Classics Post-top can create safe, even illumination and provide your parking lot with that extra measure of safety.

Security

In outdoor storage areas, maintaining security against theft and vandalism are the key reasons for putting light on property stored outside. The appropriate light level to discourage intruders is of paramount importance. An additional concern is the costs associated with the energy required for this lighting. Therefore, the fewer light fixtures required, the better. Poles can often be placed inside the space to maximize the utilization of the light output from each fixture. High-efficiency, high-wattage H.I.D. flood lights, such as the Keene Powerhouse, can provide exactly the right combination of security and cost-effectiveness.

Floodlighting

Loading, unloading, and active storage areas require uniform lighting at a high enough level to provide adequate visual acuity for tow-motor drivers and others who are in the space moving, stacking, or carrying goods. For excellent coverage and uniformity, whatever the light source, high-performance floodlights, such as Wide-Lite F Series, evenly distributed around the perimeter of active storage areas will provide the right light. Good security illumination can be achieved by using low wattage wall mounted or canopy mounted luminaires, such as Keene's Lytepro or Lytecube, from 70 to 150 watts in High Pressure Sodium, and 70 175 watts Metal Halide.