Carpark lighting

[wesj]

I am helping a friend with re fitting a bar and kitchen in a small snooker club.The owner has asked us to fit spotlights to two outside walls to illuminate his car parking area which measures about 30 metres long and 8 wide down either side of the building. The previous floodlights have been removed prior to the new ownership, leaving dangling flexes at a height of about5 metres terminated in choc blocks and with the fuse removed from its F.C.U. Each of the 6 flexes, 3 down each side of bulding goes to its own F.C.U. located above false ceiling and wired back to switching adjacent to distribution board.The circuits have been tested by an electrician as being OK but he was reluctant to define what type and size of floodlight to fit, he said possibly sodium or metal halide but addmitted to being a bit inexperienced with car park lighting. The club owner says he does not want the parking area lit up like a football pitch but wants enough light so people can park and see to walk to the entrance. I have looked on TLC who have a vast sellection but am none the wiser, they have 42 watt cfls that give 3200 lumens which is supposed to be equal to 200 watt halogen or 70 watt metal halide.Could anyone with the benifit of experience suggest a possible starting point for a light type and size that might suit the requirement.Many thanks in anticipation of your replies
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[ban-all-sheds]

Your friend needs to engage a specialist. There are public safety issues to consider, for which he is liable, and nuisance ones.

The electrician behaved properly and responsibly - if he doesn't know what the requirements are then he was right to decline to do it. This is not something that someone can do on the basis of "it looks OK to me".

 

[RF Lighting]

Go enquire at your local electrical wholesaler.

Many offer a free lighting design service and will send someone out to your site to design and specify the lighting you require, with the hope that you will use them to buy the fittings.

 

[mfarrow]

Indeed, also many of the big names (e.g. Thorn) will give you a free lighting design (but to their fittings of course ).

Look out for the relevant British Standards, particularly BS 5489-9 (Road Lighting) and, if the car park is also used as a workplace (i.e. to access bins etc) then BS EN 12464-2.

 

[wesj]

Thanks for your replies, I did not realise the implications you kindly pointed out . Searched the B.S. standards you suggested, and still just as confused as I do not have the basic knowledge of lighting, the wholesalers however were very helpfull in that they are getting a lighting engineer to phone me. Thanks again. Wes

 

[flameport]

Try to find out why the old ones were removed - could be that someone complained or they did not comply with some local planning regulation.

Individual FCUs above the ceiling is also an odd way to connect them.

 

[wesj]

Flameport, cant comment on the FCUs the electrician only tested the circuits safety/integrety, cant imagine planning problems re removal of lights the unit is in the middle of an industrial area off road, but the previous occupier had removed everything that was not part of the fabric of the building.