Ultimate Guide on Commercial LED Street Lights

Lighting is vital for safety, navigation, and mood regulation, affecting our well-being at night. Streets with many vehicle or pedestrian movements for economic or leisure activities need bright, robust, reliable, and feature-rich commercial LED street lights.

Stay informed while shopping on e-commerce sites because finding appropriate products is difficult whenever many exist. Buyers make their purchasing decisions based principally on the brightness level and price. You will need to examine elements such as temperature, beam angle, LED chip functions, ingress protection, and impact protection while choosing.

This ultimate guide on commercial LED street lights will elaborate on all the factors buyers need to know to find the right product—the types of LED street lights available, their benefits, key features, and components. You can be a city planner, business owner, or contractor. This guide will serve as the basis for you to make a well-informed, cost-effective, and efficient purchase decision.

What Are Commercial LED Street Lights?

★ A Glimpse of History

The word "commercial" means that LED streetlights have a design that favors non-residential applications. It also means that these LED street lights focus on performance and longevity compared to the cost of residential LED street lights. Lighting before the advent of LED was high-intensity, primarily discharge lamps, such as metal halide (MH) and high-pressure sodium lamps. However, due to their power consumption, they were expensive to operate.

★ Modern Lighting and LEDs

The advent of high-intensity LED lights that use surface-mount device (SMD) technology has forever changed lighting dynamics. LED chips are the most modern form of LED lights, available in different types and specifications. We will discuss these in detail later. LED lights are becoming the primary lighting source for residential or commercial use.

LED technology is best for commercial street lighting owing to its long-lasting characteristics. Compared to earlier technologies, such as the incandescent bulb, LED light can last 30 times longer. Moreover, modern commercial LED street lights have advanced heat transfer, superior drivers, and consistent lighting that results in satisfactory performance. Let's move on to the types of commercial LED streetlights.

 Different Types of Commercial LED Street Lights

Depending on your application, we can divide the commercial LED street light based on design, mounting, and power. Let's get into their detail:

● Based on Design & Mounting

○ Cobra Head LED Street Lights

Cobra head LED street lights are the most common street lighting. The shape of the whole assembly or casing that contains all the key components looks like a cobra head with curvy edges. They direct light downwards towards the street. Due to their design, they are the most efficient type. However, aesthetically, they look utilitarian. It mounts onto a street light pole with a “slip fixture” design. You can slide the light onto the pole and tighten it in place using a screw mechanism.

○ Shoebox LED Street Lights

The Showbox LED street light resembles a cobra head but has sharp edges resembling a box. Due to its inherent design, it is typically great for environments like warehouses or parking lots and is budget-friendly.

○ Post-Top Decorative LED Street Lights

Commercial streets with many tourism or leisure-related activities usually feature a post-top decorative LED street light. The elegant-looking lantern-shaped enclosure sits on top of a pole or mast. The LED lights sit inside a glass or transparent material, allowing light to pass through. Due to their design, these are great for decorative applications but are often utilized in low-light applications.

○ Flood LED Streetlights for Wide-Area Illumination

Commercial flood LED street lights are the best choice for illuminating a wide area. They have a wider angle and higher intensity, which favors even light distribution. They are typically installed on heightened poles in a round configuration.

● Based on Power & Wattage

○ Low-Wattage LED Street Lights (≤50W)

Low-wattage streetlights are meant only for decorative purposes or aesthetics. They consume less than 50W and are usually found in gardens, parks, and pathways. These lights aim to create a relaxing ambiance while providing enough visibility to ensure navigation. They are primarily post-top decorative LED street lights that complement the surrounding architecture.

○ Medium-Wattage LED Street Lights (50W-150W)

Streetlights are used in parking lots or commercial areas for applications that require medium-wattage LEDs. They provide decent illumination of up to 20,000 lumens, comparable to the 400-watt metal halide light. This is the most popular category for commercial LED street lights as it provides decent coverage with the best price/performance ratio.

○ High-Wattage LED Street Lights (150W+)

High-wattage LED street lights are preferred for industrial applications where extra lighting is necessary for safe operations and production. Industrialists often prefer 150+ watt commercial LED street lights, which provide ample illumination and ensure the work environment is safe and well-lit even at night. These lights are essential for areas such as factories, warehouses, construction sites, and large outdoor spaces where precision and visibility are critical.

Where Are Commercial LED Street Lights Used? (Applications & Benefits)

If we go just by the name, we will limit the capabilities of commercial LED streetlights. The applications are widespread and applicable to areas other than the streets. Here are some examples of its uses and benefits:

● Highways & Major Roads

Commercial LED street lights, or roadway lights, are mainly used on highways and major roads. Modern LED streetlights have IoT devices and regulation controls to enhance their efficiency for highway applications. Some LEDs also have remote controls for places away from population centers.

● Urban & Residential Streets

Commercial LED streetlights also contribute to city safety. Some modern lights have gunshot or acoustic detectors that can communicate the data to the authorities within seconds of an incident and provide an accurate location. Alongside decent illumination and efficient operation, LED street lights also reduce crime.

● Parking Lots & Commercial Complexes

It is common to place high-rise poles evenly across large parking lots and commercial complexes. LED lights can distribute light evenly in large areas and should have a decent angle. Proper calculations made by lighting experts are necessary to manage the challenging installation process of these lights. The chosen streetlights belong to the flood LED category and are designed to provide excellent illumination from elevated positions.

● Industrial & Warehouse Areas

In the case of industrial and warehouse areas, visibility is key for workflow efficiency. These areas often involve inspection and tagging, which are visual-intensive work. Therefore, high-wattage commercial LED lights are the most suitable for these areas. They have high brightness and good color temperature, ideal for working conditions.

● Parks & Public Spaces

The lighting needs for parks along with public areas should be low-wattage. Using low-wattage LED lighting solutions that create smooth and relatively uniform illumination is ideal. The lighting system should have an effective IP rating because dust and rain will expose it. When used under these conditions, the enclosures become sealed against leaks.

Key Features & Advantages of Commercial LED Street Lights

Examining the essential qualities and benefits of modern commercial LED streetlights demonstrates their superiority compared to existing HID streetlights that remain functional today. The decision to replace HID with commercial LED street lights proves advantageous because of these factors:

● High Energy Efficiency & Cost Savings

LED lights provide better illumination while consuming less power. A typical LED light produces 130-180 lumens per watt, while an HID street light can generate 70-100 lumens using 1 watt of electricity. These easily translate into cost savings in energy bills.

● Long Lifespan & Low Maintenance

LED streetlights have long lifespans, up to 50,000 hours. It is mainly due to the enhancement of heat transfer technology and SMD LED chip technology. Their solid electronic technology does not require maintenance and works consistently.

● Superior Brightness & Uniform Light Distribution

Commercial LED streetlights can produce as many as 650000 lumens from a single module. The manufacturer's installation of the LED chip inside the enclosure affects the light distribution. Due to the unidirectional nature of SMD LED lights, their light distribution is uniform and spread more evenly.

● Smart Control Features (Dimming, Motion Sensors, IoT Integration)

The newest commercial LED streetlights feature light dimming, motion sensors, and IoT integrations. These make the lighting system smart and adaptable to the changing conditions. The light can sense movements to change its brightness and improve efficiency. So, the connection to the internet allows precise control and data collection by the authorities.

● Environmental Benefits & Sustainability

The unidirectional nature of LED lights makes them great for dark skies. The lower power consumption reduces the carbon footprint, and their long-lasting nature reduces waste production. They also do not contain toxic chemicals such as mercury, commonly found in older lighting technologies like HID lamps.

Components of Commercial LED Street Lights

A. LED Chips: The Core of Illumination

The core of the commercial LED street light is the LED chip, which needs to have good luminous efficacy (lm/W). The specification shows the LED's brightness when consuming one watt of power. Higher-quality LED chips produce constant colors that do not change after heating up. Therefore, it's essential to consider the quality of the chip and its design when purchasing a commercial LED street light.

B. LED Driver: Powering the Light Efficiently

The driver of the LED is the key component in ensuring the LED chip performs as intended. It converts the AC electricity into DC, which is necessary for LED chip illumination. However, to reduce its brightness level, it turns off and on the circuit so fast that the brightness changes. You will need a high-end LED driver with consistent lighting and no flickering. Some popular brands include Mean Well, Inventronics, Philips, and Sosen.

C. Heat Sink & Thermal Management

The LED chip can produce a lot of heat due to its electronic nature. It consists of a printed circuit board with SMD LED mounting. When producing light, these SMDs can heat up. Heat removal is critical to maintaining the color temperature and avoiding damage to the light. Therefore, LED chips will have heatsinks made from aluminum or composite material. In the case of a metal commercial LED street light enclosure, the body can also act as a heat sink.

D. Optics & Beam Angles

Manufacturers will mention the optics and beam angles of their LED lighting. The beam angles determine how the lights spread across the road. IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) standards divide the beam angles into five categories:

E. Smart Control Systems

As mentioned earlier, smart control systems make commercial LED streetlights more efficient by including sensors, dimming, and IoT technology. To achieve the ultimate energy savings, target smart sensors and adaptive lighting devices.

F. Housing & Protection (IP & IK Ratings)

If the commercial LED street lights are outdoors, they also need a decent IP (Ingress Protection) and IK (Impact Protection) rating. They provide durability against rain, dust, and impacts. Higher numbers mean better protection. As a city planner, contractor, or any other person seeking commercial LED street lights, consider rating above the following:

• Weatherproofing (IP65, IP66) for Outdoor Durability
• Impact Resistance (IK08, IK10) for Long-Term Reliability

Where to Buy Commercial LED Street Lights?

There are lots of suppliers for commercial LED streetlights. However, only a few have successful projects and years of experience. If you plan to buy a lot of commercial LED streetlights for your project, it's best to visit the brands' e-commerce websites and order online. Buyers can also visit online marketplaces to find the right device.

Consider CHz Lighting as the vendor for your big project. They provide extraordinary options with all the modern features. They are highly efficient and contain components sourced from the best manufacturers. Their LED chips, enclosures, IP/IK rating, sensors, heat sinks, and optics are on point for the best efficiency. Visit the CHz Lighting commercial LED street light website to check out their whole lineup! We hope you find the right product for your project.