Planning the lights for the interior of your business comes without saying. You know that all your employees, tenants, or customers need light to function inside your building.
- But what about when employees are receiving packages outside a warehouse in dim light?
- Or when customers are parking and walking into a store at night?
It’s vital to also incorporate outdoor lighting for your commercial business. Exterior lights keep dark areas illuminated at all times of day, plus they offer security and aesthetic appeal. Take a look at this commercial outdoor lighting guide to inspire your upcoming project!
Start Your Search With the Most Popular Outdoor Lighting Types
It’s almost universally agreed upon that LED lights are the best option for commercial lighting fixtures. LED lights offer many benefits, including:
- Impressive energy efficiency (resulting in cost savings)
- Long lifespans
- Eco-friendly nature
- Ability to operate in cold conditions
- Low voltage operations
- No UV emissions
You can incorporate LED bulbs into any of the following popular outdoor lighting fixtures:
1) Floodlights
Are you a “Friday Night Lights” fan? 🏈 Whether your commercial space is an athletic stadium, college campus, or large retail store, floodlights are an evergreen type of commercial lighting that will likely always have a purpose.
You’ll recognize these lights by their broad beams and high-intensity light. Anywhere between 6 and 20 lights are constructed on top of a large beam. They’re best used to produce a significant amount of light in large, open areas.
2) Bollards & Landscaping Lights
If you want to add a level of elegance to your outdoor space, consider including bollards. Bollards are small pillars with lights on them that border the sidewalk leading up to entrances. These fixtures add a level of security for people walking up to your property or campus when it’s dark out. You can even find a specific style to match your company’s brand!
You may also consider landscape lighting if you’re looking to improve your building’s landscaping. Some examples of landscape lighting include:
- Pathway lights
- String lights
- Spotlights
3) Area Lights
Area lights provide light to, well, large areas! (Shocking, right?) Typically, area lights are the go-to selection for parking lots and street lamps. They are set high up on a pole, allowing just one light to cover a significant area.
4) Wall Packs
Believe it or not— you do need lighting installed around the entire perimeter of your building. Wall packs are the best outdoor lighting option because they attach right to your exterior walls. They offer an essential security component because the added light makes it harder for people to sneak around or perform illegal acts at night.
Wall packs are ideal for just about every public commercial property, including:
- Schools
- Parking garages
- Gas stations
- Convenience stores
- Restaurants
5) Dusk to Dawn Lights
Light security around your building is non-negotiable. But what if you still want to save money on energy costs and don’t want wall lights to be lit at all hours of the day? Dusk-to-dawn lights are the perfect solution.
These LED fixtures turn on when the sun starts to go down and turn off when there’s sufficient natural light outside. Many businesses opt to use these lights by loading docks or at lesser-used side entrances.
This solution is perfect for keeping your tenants, customers, and employees safe, all while limiting how much energy your building spends.
6) Motion Sensor Lights
In a similar vein of dawn to dusk lights, motion sensor lights are another outdoor lighting option that has energy savings built right in. Instead of turning on and off based on sunlight levels, these lights are triggered by motion.
They remain off until they detect when someone is walking past. When the motion is sensed, the light turns on to illuminate the area. They’re designed to shut back off roughly 30 to 60 seconds after movement has ceased.
Motion sensor lights are great for lesser-traveled areas around your commercial building that don’t need to be illuminated all the time. They promote safety so that people don’t have to walk through dark areas at night.
7) Step Lights
If you have stairs leading up to any of your entrances, consider installing step lights. Not only are these lights luxurious and aesthetically pleasing, but they’re a huge factor in building accessibility.
People with poor eyesight or mobility limits can greatly benefit from the addition of step lights. They look absolutely stunning and help guests and employees feel more comfortable navigating stairs at night. You can’t go wrong!
8) Sign Lights
Last but not least, consider illuminating your business’s exterior sign. You still want your guests and customers to be able to see the name of your business when they arrive.
You can achieve this in one of two ways:
- Order a custom illuminated sign; or
- Mount spotlights or commercial-grade LED sign lights that point at your sign
It’s all in the details, right? Sign lights may come as an afterthought, but they make a huge difference in aesthetics.
Do You Have a Go-To Commercial Lighting Partner?
Outdoor lighting makes all the difference for commercial businesses. From big floodlights and area lights that illuminate large spaces to the intentional details in bollards and step lights, it’s important to put a lot of thought into your commercial outdoor lighting plan.
You’ll need to hire a professional electrician to rig all the lighting anyway; why not work with one that has experience providing customized solutions?
Electric City is the preferred electrician in Minnesota for commercial and residential properties alike. With over a decade of local experience, we’ve been helping business owners like you make the most out of their properties. We help keep your business secure, all while reducing energy costs.
Contact Electric City today to get started with a free outdoor lighting consultation!
