Casy Study: New Harley Davidson Dealership Faced Unique Lighting Challenges
In some respects, this was a very unique project. It was one of the few times that the client acted as his own general contractor. This particular client owned a Harley Davidson Dealership that was pending a grand opening. He contacted us to find the very best possible lighting equipment, and to obtain from us a detailed photometric lighting plan for his motorcycle dealership to use as a guideline for installation.

Challenges Client Was Facing
The owner had already determined that his motorcycle dealership should have a minimum of 5’ candles throughout the parking lot. He wanted this exceptionally high level of luminance to highlight the exceptional architecture of the facility. Like many of the retail establishments around his dealership, an island existed in the parking lot that would have provided an ideal location for mounting light poles. However, this would have obscured the view of the front edifice of the structure and diminished its aesthetic appeal.

Because of this, the client requested that we place poles only in locations that would not obscure the building and still produce the desired 5 foot candle minimum. He also asked us to develop a separate lighting subsystem for a VIP area behind the dealership. The area was to be used as a setting for special events and guests, and he wanted the most exquisite decorative fixtures possible installed here.

Design Considerations
We had to use a variety of fixture types to accommodate the dealer’s unique lighting requirements. We knew we would have to use poles that were very tall in order to deliver the necessary level and distribution of luminance. The client wanted poles spaced around the front perimeter of the dealership in such a way as to light and magnify the exceptional architecture of the facility.

Since the client was acting as his own general contractor, special attention was paid to his aesthetic preferences. We recommended a blend of decorative pole mounted lights and wall mounted lights for the motorcycle VIP area.

For the front of the building, we planned on lighting the motorcycle dealership with more utilitarian poles that would accommodate the unique fixture mounts and configurations that we knew would be necessary to create the desired outcome at the end of the day.

Photometric Analysis Software Helped Us Determine The Following
The client provided us with a CAD file which proved invaluable in determining pole placement locations throughout the dealership. We determined that lighting fixtures would have to be placed on poles in differing numbers and at varying angles of incidence to distribute the desired level of foot candles without placing light poles in front of the building. We also realized that we would have to space the light poles around the perimeter of the dealership in such as way as to showcase and highlight the uniqueness of building architecture.

Final System Proposed
Upon completing our photometric analysis of the Harley Davidson Dealership, we decided that all fixtures in both the front and rear areas around the building should be metal halide lights. We sold the owner two decorative poles to mount in the VIP area of the dealership, each measuring 20’ in height, and each supporting a single 250W fixture. Three contemporary style wall mounted lights (also 250W in power) were also sold to compliment the dealership’s exterior architecture.

Around the perimeter of the parking lot, we installed much taller lighting poles that measured 30’ in height. We used vertical burn MH 1000W fixtures mounted either single, in pairs, or in groups of 3 to achieve the required photometric and precise distribution of requested lighting levels.

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