Cooper McGraw-Edison PSL User Manual

PSL

PARKING STRUCTURE LUMINAIRE

the architecture of form and light

PSL Parking structure LUMINAIRE
The task defined

A parking garage is not a parking lot, at least when it
comes to lighting. A parking garage is a long, narrow
interior space with walls, beams and ceilings and
therefore is a more complex visual and psychological
environment. It’s one of the few places where vehicles
and pedestrians intermix in close, cramped quarters and
a multitude of visual tasks exist simultaneously.

Parking garage luminaires have been divided into two classic types.
First, the reflector or cutoff luminaire. (fig. 1)

FIG. 1

The second type of fixture
historically used is the
refractor system. (fig. 2)

Refractors bathe the interior of the garage,
walls, ceilings and cars in uniform vertical
illumination. However, refractor systems are
known for throwing light everywhere
indiscriminately, meaning excessive
brightness for the driver, the pedestrian
and the outside world.

This cutoff luminaire provides good maintained horizontal
footcandles and has very sharp cutoff to limit light into
drivers and pedestrians eyes. It falls short at elevations
above the horizontal, where vertical foot-candles are on
walls, ceilings, cars and people. Lighting concerns with
these products ranged from its strobe effect to getting
enough illumination between parked cars and between
fixtures.

FIG. 2

Mcgraw-edison

Brings a fourth dimension into the three-dimensional lighting of the garage environment: that of comfort. The McGraw-Edison
PSL luminaire combines both attributes of reflector and refractor into one unit. It provides proper 3-D illumination for the visual
tasks involved as well as allowing designer control over driver glare and light trespass.

ies recommendations

Max./Min.
Minimum Horizontal Minimum
Horizontal Uniformity Vertical

Lux fc Ratio Lux fc

Basic 10 1.0 10:1 5 0.5
Ramps

Day 20 2.0 10:1 10 1.0
Night 10 1.0 10:1 5 0.5

Entrance Areas

Day 500 50 250 25
Night 10 1.0 10:1 5 0.5

Stairways 20 2.0 10 1.0

NOTE: Consult IES RP20 for complete guidelines on parking garage lumination.

The IES now recognizes that
lighting a parking garage is a

IES RECOMMENDATIONS

(Maintained Illumination for Parking Garages)

three-dimensional task and
therefore requires three-dimensional
illumination.

In recognition of the multitude of
visual tasks that need to be
accomplished in a parking garage,
the inclusion of vertical footcandles
is a critical element of quality
illumination in parking garage
environments.

Low mounting heights mean
a fixture must offer a wide
distribution along with excellent

The IES, in its recently revised metric for parking garages, RP20 ’98, has added an
important element in its consideration of designing lighting for parking garages—
vertical footcandles. It is now realized what the vertical footcandle does to the

glare control. In addition, a broad,
even coverage of light is even more
difficult to achieve because of the
limited mounting height (often less
than 7'), parking density of vehicles,
signage, shadows of columns and

visual environment. Classically, horizontal footcandles have been the only criteria
for the design of parking garages, whether at the horizontal floor plane of 30", 42"
or even 72" above the floor. However, the horizontal footcandle does not go far
enough in providing a comfortable environment for the multitude of visual tasks in

the parking garage.
vehicles, and difficulty in
maintaining surface reflectance
and cleanliness of parking garage

There are three (3) main visual tasks involved:

1) Providing enough illumination for the driver of the car to safely negotiate the

fixtures. With this in mind, the PSL
series garage luminaire has been
developed to provide excellent
vertical illumination, without
sacrificing good visibility for
vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

garage while avoiding pedestrians.

2) Enabling pedestrians’ to visually identify their cars, as well as providing a
feeling of safety and security.

3) Containing light within the structure, so that no wasteful, glaring light is emitted
into the surrounding neighborhood (light trespass).