Car park lighting

What the facility needs

A car park means a low ceiling, round-the-clock operation and a target that looks modest until you look at uniformity. ShNK 2.01.05-24 sets 50 lx on the floor for parking bays in garages and car parks (app. 9, table 2, item 2b), 75 lx for the enclosed depots of transport companies (item 2a) and 6-20 lx for open car parks (table 21; app. 9, table 2, item 1). Specifications often ask for more on the driveways and ramps, and then we design to the specification. A dip between luminaires reads as a black hole, and at the entrance the eye moves from daylight into darkness: the transition zone is calculated separately.

The ceiling is usually 2.5 to 3.5 m: a point luminaire gives a pool of light beneath it and darkness in between, so the light is run in continuous lines along the driveway.

Why these series

Line is the basis of the solution: a continuous run along the driveway settles the uniformity question by geometry rather than by power. The Ultra 30×40 mm section does not steal headroom on a low ceiling.

Prom is needed on ramps and in zones with a ceiling above 4 m.

Typical layout

A car park of ≈ 3,000 m², ceiling height 3 m, two driveways:

• SVO 01 Line Ultra 40W in continuous runs along the driveways, ≈ 180 pcs
• installed load ≈ 7.2 kW
• at the entrance and on the ramp the run is doubled up

Flux from the 2018 IES file: Line Ultra 40W 5,600 lm. Utilisation factor method with UF 0.5 (low ceiling, dark surfaces, cars) and MF 0.67 (safety factor 1.5, MF = 1/1.5): 180 × 5,600 × 0.5 × 0.67 / 3,000 ≈ 110 lx, twice the 50 lx target. The target alone would be met by ≈ 80 pcs (≈ 3.2 kW), but continuous runs along the driveways deliver uniformity by geometry; how many to install is decided by the specification and the DIALux calculation.

What the replacement gives

Before: the same car park on 200 fluorescent 2×36 W fittings at 90 W with magnetic ballasts, ≈ 18 kW. At the nominal lamp flux (6,700 lm) the same assumptions give ≈ 150 lx, and ≈ 100 lx with a louvred fitting efficiency of about 0.65.

After: ≈ 7.2 kW at ≈ 110 lx. The light burns round the clock, 8,760 hours a year, so the difference is ≈ 94,600 kWh a year; with 80 luminaires for the bare target, ≈ 129,600 kWh. In UZS, by the tariff on the date of the calculation (see the savings calculator).

A calculated estimate under the stated assumptions, not guaranteed until measured on site. Figures marked ≈ are estimates.

Frequently asked questions

What is the illuminance norm for a car park?

Under ShNK 2.01.05-24: car storage places in enclosed car parks and garages 50 lx on the floor (app. 9, table 2, item 2b), enclosed lots of transport companies and depots 75 lx (item 2a), open lots 10 lx unheated and 20 lx heated (item 1), beside streets 6 lx (table 21). Specifications often ask for more on driveways and ramps.

Why is car park light run in lines rather than points?

The ceiling is usually 2.5-3.5 m, and a point luminaire gives a pool under itself and darkness between pools: the gap reads as a black hole. A continuous line along the driveway solves uniformity by geometry rather than by power. For a low ceiling the Line Ultra with a 30×40 mm section fits; Prom is for ramps and for ceilings above 4 m.

How many luminaires does a car park need?

The number comes from N = E × S / (F × UF × MF) with MF 0.67 (safety factor 1.5). In the typical layout, a car park of about 3,000 m² with a 3 m ceiling is covered by about 180 Line Ultra 40W luminaires in lines along the driveways: about 7.2 kW and about 110 lx, twice the 50 lx norm. The norm alone would need about 80 luminaires, but continuous lines give uniformity. How many to install is decided by the specification and a DIALux calculation.

What replaces fluorescent luminaires in a car park?

In the typical layout, a car park of about 3,000 m² on 200 fluorescent luminaires of 2×36 W (90 W each with a magnetic ballast, about 18 kW) gets about 180 luminaires at about 7.2 kW. The light burns around the clock, 8,760 hours a year, so the difference is about 94,600 kWh a year. The figures are estimates; for the sum in UZS use the savings calculator at the tariff on the date of calculation.

Estimate the savings