How to Choose the Most Suitable Lamp Post Height?

Do you know the standard lamp post height for different applications? Some people don’t, and others can only find a general range of height. But which value is the best height for your street lights? This passage can offer you the standards for different kinds of street lights and guide you in deciding the most suitable lamp post height.

Roadway street lights

• Standard

For freeways, expressways, etc., the height of the street lights should be 10-15 meters for 10 to 15-meter roads.

• What to consider when choosing the height

1. Road width: The light can be cast farther by higher street lights. You can think about installing more street lights if the roadways in your project are broader than usual.
2. Placement of the lights:
   • Single-side: Height≥Road width
   • Staggered: Height≥0.7*Road width
   • Opposite: Height≥0.5*Road width
3. Light uniformity: Since the illumination area of higher street lights is wider, the lighting is more uniform. This is especially crucial for roadways. Uneven lighting will lead to visual fatigue and affect the safety of driving. Besides, if the street lights are too low, there will be blind spots on the roads because the light cannot cover them.

• Example

In NYC, there are two typical types of street lights for roadways within the city. One of them is 30 feet high, while the other is 40 feet high.

Check out our roadway street lights and let us advise the best height for your project!

Decorative street lights

• Standard

These street lights can be found in parks and landscapes where the lighting requirements are not very high. In addition to providing illumination, decorative street lights can also beautify the streets. 3–5 meters is enough for them to light up the parks whose roads are 3–5 meters wide. This can be the same for residential areas with narrow streets.

• What to consider when choosing the height

1. Safety:

   To guarantee safety, street lights should be at the proper height. In general, consistency of lighting is more significant than brightness, thus street lights shouldn’t be set too high. The street lights should be nearer to one another if you use lower ones. In addition, high street lights may have weaker wind resistance, which is a threat to passersby.

2. Lighting effect: At some places, people apply vintage lamp posts as a part of the landscape. Lower street lights bring out the best of the lighting effect.
3. Animal protection: Street lights may violate the physiological routine of the animals, especially the birds. Therefore, the street lights should not be too high in these parks, where many animals live.

Residential Lamp Post Height

• Standard

Lamp post height in meters: 4-8 meters.

Lamp post height in feet: 13-26 feet.

• What to Consider When Choosing the Height:

1. Pedestrian Safety: When designing street lighting in residential neighborhoods, the safety of pedestrians should come first. In most cases, shorter poles—usually ranging from 4 to 6 meters—are adequate to illuminate walkways without producing excessive glare. To guarantee that light is dispersed equally over a greater area, taller poles (7-8 meters) can be necessary for busier or more urbanized regions.
2. Light Pollution Control: Reducing light pollution is essential in metropolitan areas with high population density. Through suitable shading, taller poles (10-12 meters) can assist in reducing needless light spill by guiding the light downward. This can prevent excessive light from disturbing nearby residential or quieter regions.

Commercial Areas

• Standard

Lamp post height in meters: 6-12 meters.

Lamp post height in feet: 20-39 feet.

• What to Consider When Choosing the Height:

1. Aesthetic Appeal: Lighting in business places is frequently designed to enhance the atmosphere of the room as well as for functionality.To achieve this, taller poles (8–12 meters) are commonly chosen. They help create a more inviting nighttime ambiance while also providing better coverage for public spaces, storefronts, and signage, making the area feel safer and more welcoming after dark.
2. Foot Traffic: High foot traffic locations, such as malls or pedestrian plazas, require lighting that is evenly distributed to ensure safety and comfort. Taller poles—usually 8 to 10 meters—help reduce shadows and enhance general lighting, which promotes more nighttime activity and makes people feel safer in these busy places.

• Example

How tall is a NYC lamp post in commercial areas? The height of two standard poles is respectively 18 feet and 30 feet.

Parking lot lamp post height

• Standard

The typical height of parking lot street lights can be 6-12 meters.

• What to consider when choosing the height

1. Size: The range of height is wide for parking lot lights because the size of parking lots is different. For your reference, a 6-meter-high street light may cover an area with a width of 15 meters and a length of 9 meters. The area the street lights cover varies depending on their lighting distribution scheme. For large parking lots, 15-20-meter-high mast lights can also be an ideal choice.
2. Safety: Parking lot safety is as essential as that of roadways and parks, and they all emphasize lighting uniformity. On the one hand, the drivers need to see clearly while entering the parking lots and parking their cars. Higher street lights can also prevent glare. On the other hand, the uniform lighting high street lights provide can help combat theft.

Lamp post height for industrial areas

• Standard

The street lights in some special areas, like the ports, are extremely high. Their height can range from 20 to 50 meters. For some regular areas, like the logistics parks, they can use regular 10 to 15-meter street lights.

• What to consider when choosing the height

Some street lights need to be high enough to provide sufficient and uniform light because industrial areas often cover a large area. But if the area is not as large, you can consider choosing shorter ones. Street lights in industrial areas often need to be resistant to corrosion, smoke, moisture, vibration, impact, etc., so the materials they use are expensive. If shorter street lights can fulfill your requirements, choosing them can save more money.

Sports Lighting

• Standard

Lamp post height in meters: 15-30 meters.

Lamp post height in feet: 49-98 feet.

• Standard Height: 15-30 meters. Large outdoor sporting stadiums require high poles to guarantee consistent and bright.
• What to Consider When Choosing the Height:

1. Field Size and Coverage: The right pole height is determined in large part by the size of the athletic field. Poles up to 30 meters high are required for professional or large sports fields in order to guarantee uniform lighting across the space. This removes any shadows that can impair the players’ visibility and performance.
2. Lighting Intensity for Competition: Lighting for competitive sports must reach certain lux levels in order to provide the best possible nighttime visibility. To ensure that the field is adequately lit for top performance, taller poles (20–30 meters) with high-intensity lights are needed to offer the brightness that athletes and spectators need.
3. Safety and Glare Reduction: High poles are also essential for keeping competitors from being harmed by glare during competitions. By reducing direct glare towards players and distributing light evenly over the field, a well-designed lighting system with taller poles enhances player safety and performance throughout the event.

Conclusions

In the above passage, we talk about how to choose the best height for different street lights. The height is not a fixed value because the installation areas are various. Deciding the most suitable height is helpful to create optimal lighting. Use our calculator to easily calculate the height and spacing of your lights! While choosing the street lights, height is only one of the factors to consider. To learn more, you can visit other blogs on our website or contact us at any time!