Lighting towers are essential for site plants, particularly as we head into the darker months. But how do you go about choosing a lighting tower that meets your site’s individual requirements? Here we will go over a number of important considerations to be made when considering lighting tower hire this season.
What light throw do you require from your lighting tower?
Consider the size of the site you need to light. Is it a relatively small courtyard? Or is it a much larger, industrial construction site? It’s important to pick a lighting tower which adequately provides the correct lighting you need for your applications, to ensure productivity remains good when the clocks go back, but most importantly, to ensure you are delivering safe working conditions.
We offer two types of bulb at Ace Plant: Metal Halide and LED. If your applications include larger sites, our metal halide lighting tower offers omnidirectional light throw, with a reach of 85m. On the other hand, our LED lighting towers deliver a 90m light throw, although light is directional and of a slightly lower illuminance lux value when compared with metal halide options. Essentially, both types of bulb offer a high quality lighting solution- the biggest determiner is how wide an area you wish to cover; generally, a wider area calls for a metal halide option.
How important is your equipment’s efficiency?
Efficiency is another factor you’ll probably be thinking about when choosing any plant or site equipment, not least for lighting towers. This includes cost and time efficiency.
Firstly, how much fuel does a lighting tower consume? This of course depends on the model and the type of bulbs used- metal halide bulbs tend to consume more fuel per hour, with approximately 1.53 litres per hour used to power the lamps, in contrast to just over half a litre for LED alternatives. LEDs also waste very little energy compared to other options in the form of infrared radiation.
Secondly, how time efficient are different types of lighting towers? Something to consider is warm up and cool down times. This isn’t an issue with LED towers, which reach full luminosity when turned on. However, metal halide models require around 15-20 minutes to reach their normal operating temperature, which means that they can often be less time efficient than their LED counterparts. For example, consider a half an hour period of downtime- do you turn the lighting tower off to save on fuel costs, or do you keep it running to avoid repeating the warm up process?
Fortunately, our lighting towers at Ace Plant have dawn/dusk sensors, meaning that time efficiency is improved automatically, compared to other models on the market.
Is durability something you look for in site equipment?
Durability is key to saving costs down the line and keeping productivity at a consistently high level. A lighting tower needs to be weather resistant, especially as the autumn and winter weather approaches. Corrosion resistance is important, particularly with harsher materials that might be used on construction sites. Furthermore, wind resistance is another thing to look for- fortunately, all of our lighting towers at Ace Plant are suitable for usage in up to a maximum of 100km/h wind speeds.
Moreover, servicing is another key component to maintaining the durability of your equipment if you buy as opposed to hire. No matter how durable your lighting tower is, it will always benefit from regular servicing to ensure everything is in working order and your equipment lasts.
How important a factor is transportability and mobility for your company when it comes to lighting towers?
Finally, you should consider how important transportability is regarding your lighting tower. Will you need to regularly move equipment to different site locations? How easy is it to dismantle? The main part of the lighting tower which can cause issues with transportability is the mast. A 9M mast ought to be easy to dismantle, and compactable enough to facilitate simple transportation. Hydraulic masts are an effective solution to this- they facilitate smooth elevation and retraction, meaning your lighting tower can be dismantled safely and with ease.
On a similar note, additional features, such as road lighting, hook eye lift points, and fork pockets make transportation safer and easier.
Here at Ace Plant, we have nearly 50 years of quality experience in plant hire and sales. To find out more about the lighting tower hire options we offer and how we can help you with your site’s requirements, give us a call today on 01908 562191 or email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, fill out one of our enquiry forms and an expert from our team will get back to you shortly.