Construction site lighting: the plan before the tower
A night shift needs light where the work is, in the hour before the first pour, not after the first incident.
Night work on a construction site fails in two ways: light in the wrong place, or light that arrives after the job it was ordered for. A lighting plan starts with the tasks that run after dark and the zones they move through, then asks what the site can power, where the ground will hold a mast, and who moves the unit when the pour moves. Those four questions decide the hardware. The fixture list is the last page.
Where the work is, not where the site is
A site is not one area. A pour, a steel erection, a trench and a walkway each need light at a different height and spread, and the zones move as the job advances. A diffused head at four metres lights a working circle people can walk through. An aimed floodlight throws further and puts a defined edge on a form or a sign face.
Drawing the zones on the site plan, with the week each one is active, stops a tower being bought for one pour and then left standing over an empty slab.
Coverage, glare and the neighbours
A balloon head spreads its output across the diffuser, so the area is lit without a point to look into. That matters for the people operating plant, who look across the site rather than down at the ground.
The same softness is a liability at the boundary. Light that leaves the hoarding lands in a bedroom or on a carriageway, and the fix is height, aim and a shield rather than a bigger head.
Power for a shift
Below about 600 W a battery station covers a shift, runs silently and puts no exhaust at the lamp. Above that the runtime shortens and a generator or mains is the honest answer.
A common arrangement is a generator charging a station through the day and the station running the lamp at night, which keeps noise and fumes away from the work. Where there is no supply, the power source decides the head.
Wind, ground and relocation
An inflated balloon is a sail. The wind speed a tripod is rated to with that head mounted belongs in the quotation, and so does the ballast or the anchors that get it there.
Relocation is the other cost. A cart with the power on it is one object to move and secure; a head, a mast and a battery are three. On a site that moves weekly, that difference decides the line item.
Four setups, four jobs
Match the setup to the zone and the shift, not to the biggest number on the sheet.
| Setup | Lights | Setting up | Power | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tripod balloon, 60 to 1400 W | A working circle, 2.0 to 4.8 m | One person, no tools | Mains or station | No long throw |
| Mobile cart, battery | A zone that moves weekly | One person | Silent, no exhaust | Runtime at high output |
| Mobile cart, generator | A wide zone all night | Two people | Fuel on the cart | Noise at the lamp |
| Floodlight on a tripod | A form, a sign, a long throw | One person | Mains or station | Glare if aimed badly |
A site usually ends up with two of these: the area light and the task light are asked for by different people.
Five things to confirm before the order
Each one changes the head, the mast or the count.
- The tasks that run after dark, and the zones they move through.
- The light level the plan asks for, and who signs it off.
- The power on site: mains, generator, or a station to be charged.
- Wind exposure and the ground the mast stands on.
- Who moves, secures and checks the unit each shift.
- Site brief
- Construction sites
- Ask for
- Sheet, wind rating, photometric file where one exists
- Decided per
- Zone and shift, not per site
Three answers before the email
How many units does a site need?
The count follows the work zones and the level the plan asks for, not the site area. Two heads at a lower height often light a wide excavation better than one tall mast.
Will it run a full shift?
A battery station covers a shift below about 600 W. Above that, ask for the runtime at the setting you will actually run, because a quoted figure is usually at a lower output.
What happens in wind or rain?
The balloon head is IP54, which covers dust and splashing water, not submersion. The wind rating with the head mounted, and the ballast that gets it there, are quotation items.
Send the site plan and the shift hours.
The zones, the power available and the ground is enough. The reply is a setup per zone, a sheet and the wind rating.