Protect your investment and your pocketbook

Unless you have money to burn, you expect your lights to be easy to maintain and low on energy use. Here are some tips to take into consideration.

Maintenance Issues

All lights require care over time. Burn-outs need to be replaced. Dirt and insects reduce the efficiency of your lamps. Vehicle collisions misalign your lights. How will you be able to respond to these situations?

Your maintenance plan starts during the design phase. When you select your fixtures, also consider the level of access and upkeep that will be required for each.

Make sure you match your lighting to your maintenance capabilities, to make sure you can get to the fixtures to relamp them. Do you have a bucket truck? Do you need ladder brackets for the poles? Or perhaps you prefer hinged poles or other lowering device. Work with your designer to resolve these issues before the lights are specified.

Other suggestions to reduce maintenance headaches are to:

• Run your electric feeds underground,


• Label each circuit to the lights they control,


• Test and operate the equipment before you accept it, to make sure it is aimed and operating as designed,


• Keep trees and shrubs pruned to prevent them from blocking light.

One other point: replace your lamps when they are at 30% of full output. In an area with a high percentage of aging drivers, replace your lamps at 20% of full output.

Energy Considerations

Energy is expensive! To reduce energy costs and extend the life of your fixtures, use photocells, time clocks, and motion detectors. These keep your lights on only when they need to be. And don't forget to regularly check these devices. They require periodic adjustment and replacement, just like your lamps do.

Also keep an eye on your bottom line by considering energy use, time to full output, and useful life when you select your fixtures. There are a variety of lamps to select from for good reasons: they all have their pros, cons, and best applications. Become knowledgeable about each. Selecting the proper fixture to start with will provide you with a good return on your investment.