Commercial community lighting contributes to both the security and the prosperity of office buildings and surrounding commercial landscapes. Lighting is necessary to ensure the safety of any personnel working on the premises at night. It is also a very strong deterrent to crime. When installed professionally by a lighting design firm such as Illuminations Lighting and Design, it not only contributes to the safety and viability of the commercial community, but puts the business in a whole new light that silently advertises the property as a comfortable place to work and a prosperous location in which to conduct business.
Commercial communities generally have some sort of perimeter lighting system that contributes to the security of the campus. Security lighting can be anything from a series of bollards installed at fixed intervals around the property line to floodlights triggered by motion sensors. These lights do not have to cost a small fortune to operate if they are engineered for energy efficiency and installed by a professional firm that conducts a thorough photometric analysis of the property first. The amount of lighting needed for security is much lower than many commercial property owners frequently assume. Often, building owners believe that the brightest lights provide the best deterrent to crime. This is seldom the case for two reasons. For one thing, too much glare shining beyond the property line actually limits the visibility of what is going on within the property line. Law enforcement officers or security guards attempting to visually monitor commercial communities will not be able to see clearly through blinding light. This may also violate commercial outdoor lighting dark sky laws in many cities which strictly limit light pollution coming from retail and commercial establishments.
The intent in security lighting should always be to illuminate only the buildings in the community and the surrounding properly only to the degree that shapes are clearly visible and no pockets of shadow remain. If a firm like ILD is consulted for this task, a photometric lighting analysis can be made first that will clearly specify how many foot candles are necessary in key locations to accommodate the requirements for security. Generally speaking, the same amount of light needed for security is also needed for safe transit in and around buildings at night, so taking the extra step of having a plan first is much better than investing in equipment that violates ordinances, results in an accident, or later proves ineffective against criminal mischief.
Because commercial communities must operate their lighting from sunset to sunup, they do not have the option of using cheaper grade fixtures. Too much money will be wasted later on as inferior-grade fixtures fail and power costs add up. Many smaller office parks will often assume that any licensed electrician has access to the best equipment on the market. This is not always the case. Many freelance electrical contractors, as well as many smaller firms, often lack the vendor networks that larger outfits like Illuminations has spent over 25 years establishing and maintaining. When commercial communities invest in lighting designs from ILD, they can count on getting only the very highest-rated fixtures engineered for full dark-sky compliance and maximum energy efficiency. This material quality, combined with the precision science of advanced photometric analysis and planning prior to any installation of equipment, ensure maximum yield from the upfront investment and contributes to return on investment through greater security, reduced maintenance, and lower power costs.
Such complex designs and sophisticated commercial outdoor lighting equipment can look as good as they work when installed by a professional firm whose aesthetic sense is equal to its science. For example, almost all commercial communities invest in high-end landscaping. Lighting the many elements that comprise a commercial landscape is no easy task, and can seldom be done effectively by one or two individuals. Water features such as koi ponds and fountains require both special equipment and special installation methods to effectively work. Outdoor tree lighting must be environmentally safe as well as fiscally sound, and it can only be done with tree-friendly installation methods and commercial-grade tree lighting fixtures that have no true retail-grade equivalents. Commercial communities also should consider lighting parking lots and their walkways with the very best possible fixtures to ensure compliance with local lighting codes and to accommodate the need for an attractive face to the world. ILD has often used a variety of decorative poles and fixtures combined with lamps configured with special optics that can direct any desired foot candle spread over a specific area without encroaching on other businesses or neighboring residences.
Such a presentation speaks volumes to the integrity and precision of business or group of businesses working together as a community. Lighting that is clean and professional suggests an operation that is clean and professional. Such a face to the world can only act as a silent but very powerful branding tool that can influence prospective tenants and clients who see the property at night to drop by during business hours to see if the good first impression they got driving buy is supported by a reality of action and results. While the results are up to the businesses themselves, ILD’s commercial community and residential community lighting designs can help place office parks and commercial headquarters in the very best possible light so as to make that vital and most important first impression yield the best possible long-term results.
If you are searching for a Houston Texas commercial lighting company the search is over. Contact us or request a professional lighting proposal online or just give us a call at 713-863-1133 or toll free at 800-863-1184 to start the process. We are located in Houston Texas but provide lighting and design services in Austin TX, El Paso Texas, San Antonio TX, College Station Texas, Beaumont TX, Dallas Texas, Midland Tx and points beyond.
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