Wonky, lopsided, corroded bollard lights are a blot on the landscape and can often be seen around the best resort hotels, and public spaces. By Martin Bennett
The cost to replace them with new bollards utilising the latest LED technology need not be expensive.
Not so long ago the only bollard lights available were crazy expensive, often over £500 each and were made to order with a wait of 6 weeks or more. Today many are available from reputable companies, stocked in depth and with a next day delivery option.
Bollard lighting Guide:
Mounting methods: Flange Base, Root Mount, In Ground
“Flange” – The base has an integral flange with 4 holes for bolting to a flat, hard secure surface. Unsuitable for grassed areas or gravel drives; easily damaged and prone to vandalism or theft.
“Root Mount” – Often confused with “in ground”; the bollard is supplied with “L” shaped threaded rods. The rods are inserted into wet concrete and threaded through the flange or internal base mount holes. When the concrete is set, nuts are tightened on the threaded part to secure the bollard.
“In Ground” – The best and most secure option but a little more expensive. Simply, the Bollard is 40cm longer than the required surface height and is concreted or secured with stones into a prepared hole. Ideal for lawns, gravel areas, and pathways, especially at the construction stage of a new development. Much stronger and more vandal and thief resistant than the other mounting methods.
For many years, Son & Metal Halide were the only choices for a strong light source for Bollard illumination. Normal halogen lamps simply did not provide sufficient light output. Today LED lamps have been developed that have equivalent or more lumen output. For example a 20 watt “COB” LED lamp has a light output equivalent to 200 watts (Halogen) with the advantages of either a warm white or daylight white colour. There is no expensive control gear to replace and in the unlikely event of a lamp failure it is just a simple replacement, no electrician required!
LED lights are also suitable for use with remote PIRs as there is no warm up time plus they also work well with Photocell control.
Running costs are also very low; a 20 watt lamp on all night for a year (approx. 5000 hours) will only cost £15.00 (based on 15p per kilowatt hour)
To sum up, if you want to smarten up and be environmentally friendly, install new Bollard lights using LED lamps! Those “wonky” bollards are hurting your reputation!
Martin Bennett is the Founder of Lumena Lights
www.lumenalights.com
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