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Buying & compliance guide

# Parking-Lot Lighting: Wattage, Lumens & Pole Spacing

Lighting a lot is about delivering even, glare-free light at the pavement — not just buying the brightest fixture. Here are the rules of thumb to get the fixture wattage, mounting height and pole spacing into the right ballpark before a photometric layout.

## How much light?

Parking lots are typically designed to an **average of about 0.5–2 footcandles** at grade, depending on activity (a quiet church lot sits low; a 24-hour retail or transit lot runs high), with attention to **uniformity** so there are no dark gaps between poles. More light isn't automatically better — over-lighting wastes energy and creates glare and light trespass.

## Fixture wattage by mounting height

Your mounting height:

25 ft

15 ft35 ft

At **25 ft**, spec a **200–300 W** shoebox — ~28,000–42,000 lm. Space poles **~75–100 ft** on center. Good for large lots, big-box, transit. [Shop parking-lot lighting →](https://www.trafficthingz.com/shop/parking-lot-roadway-lighting)

| Mounting height | Typical fixture | Output | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 15–20 ft | [80–120 W](https://www.trafficthingz.com/products/100w-led-shoebox-light) | ~11,000–16,000 lm | Small lots, drive aisles |
| 20–25 ft | [150 W](https://www.trafficthingz.com/products/150w-led-shoebox-light) | ~18,500–22,500 lm | Standard commercial lots |
| 25–35 ft | [200–300 W](https://www.trafficthingz.com/products/300w-led-shoebox-light) | ~28,000–42,000 lm | Large lots, big-box, transit |

## Pole spacing & color

A common starting point is to space poles about **3–4× the mounting height** apart (e.g. 25-ft poles ~75–100 ft on center) and adjust with a photometric plan for uniformity. Use a **4000–5000K** color temperature for a crisp, secure look, and add **photocells** (dusk-to-dawn) or go **solar** where trenching to a pole is impractical — the same panel-and-battery approach that powers [solar flashing & school-zone signs](https://www.trafficthingz.com/guides/choosing-solar-flashing-school-zone-signs).

!

Free photometric layout

Don't guess at fixture count or pole spacing — send us the lot dimensions and we'll run a photometric plan that hits your target footcandles with even coverage and no dark gaps.

## Build the system

-   [Parking Lot & Roadway Lighting](https://www.trafficthingz.com/shop/parking-lot-roadway-lighting) — fixtures + poles in one place
-   [Shoebox & Area Fixtures](https://www.trafficthingz.com/collections/parking-lot-and-street-lights)
-   [Light Poles](https://www.trafficthingz.com/collections/light-poles) — straight & anchor-base
-   [Solar Lighting](https://www.trafficthingz.com/shop/solar-lighting) — no-trench, off-grid options

Lighting the building interior too? Size warehouse and shop fixtures with our [high-bay lighting by ceiling height](https://www.trafficthingz.com/guides/high-bay-lighting-by-ceiling-height) guide.

Want a free photometric layout for your lot? [Send us the dimensions](https://www.trafficthingz.com/contact) and we'll spec the fixtures and pole count.

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