What should be the height of the pole and the distance between the poles in street lighting?
The location of the luminaire is as important as the luminaire selection in order to properly illuminate the streets, roads and pavements. If you do not place the lighting fixture correctly, you cannot achieve the desired performance.
The height of the lighting pole to be used is related to the width of the area to be illuminated. Lighting poles 4-5-6 meters high are used on pavements and bicycle paths. Lighting poles of 8-10 meters are preferred in narrow streets and side roads. Lighting poles 10-12 meters high are used in boulevards, commercial and industrial areas.
When the height of the pole is not appropriate, there will be very bright and very dark spots.
If the distance between the poles is greater, you will use less poles and lighting fixtures. This will reduce the cost. The distance between the poles is related to the height of the pole to be used. If the height of the lighting pole is high, the distance between the poles will also be high. If we need to give a general ratio in this regard, it would be appropriate to leave 2.5-3 times the height of the pole between the two poles. For example, in projects where 6 meters of lighting poles are used, a distance of 15-18 meters can be left between the poles.
If the distance between the poles is too large, there may be dark spots between the two poles. If the distance between the poles is too small, there may be bright areas between the two poles.
The width of the area illuminated by the lighting fixture is approximately equal to the height of the lighting pole. In other words, a lighting fixture mounted at a height of 12 meters from a lighting pole can illuminate a 12-meter-wide road (3-3.5 meters lane width) or area.
In narrow streets, it is sufficient to illuminate one side of the road. On wider streets it may be necessary to place lighting poles on both sides of the road (opposite or offset).
Factors such as speed limit, traffic density and crime rate, which determine the road lighting class, should be taken into account in determining the pole height and the distance between the poles. When determining the mast height, the total light output and light distribution of the lighting fixture should also be taken into account.
It should be verified by computer simulation software that the combination of lamppost and luminaire meets the standard requirements for road lighting.
