Car Park Lighting Solutions

Hotel Car Parks – Lighting & Electrical Solutions

Hotel car parks are a critical first and last touchpoint in the guest journey. Whether underground, multi-storey or external, car parks must feel safe, clearly navigable and well-maintained at all times. Poor lighting in these areas can immediately undermine guest confidence, negatively impact perceptions of security and increase the risk of accidents or complaints.

From an operational perspective, car parks are also high-energy-use environments, often illuminated for long hours with legacy lighting technologies that are costly to run and maintain.

With over 30 years’ experience supplying the hospitality sector, Lightsave works as a trusted hospitality procurement partner, supporting hotels with car park lighting and electrical solutions that balance safety, efficiency and long-term reliability. As a Signify Gold Partner, Lightsave provides access to advanced Philips and Signify technologies, intelligent control systems and professional commissioning services designed for both internal and external parking environments.

The role of lighting in hotel car parks

Lighting in hotel car parks must address several critical requirements simultaneously:

• Create a strong perception of safety and security
• Provide clear visibility for drivers and pedestrians
• Support intuitive wayfinding and signage
• Operate reliably across extended daily hours
• Minimise energy consumption and maintenance costs

Unlike guest-facing interiors, car park lighting must perform consistently in challenging environments, including low ceilings, vehicle emissions, moisture and temperature fluctuations.

Internal and underground car park lighting

Underground and enclosed car parks require uniform, glare-controlled lighting to ensure safe vehicle movement and pedestrian visibility. Dark patches, excessive contrast or poor colour rendering can increase accident risk and make spaces feel unwelcoming.

Effective internal car park lighting strategies include:

• Evenly distributed ambient lighting across driving lanes
• Enhanced illumination at pedestrian routes, lifts and stair cores
• Clear lighting at signage, pay stations and access points

LED luminaires provide instant full output and consistent performance, particularly important in spaces where lights may be switched on and off frequently.

External car parks and perimeter lighting

External hotel car parks place additional demands on lighting systems due to weather exposure and larger open areas. Lighting must provide sufficient coverage while avoiding excessive glare or light spill beyond site boundaries.

Street and area lighting solutions are commonly used to illuminate:

• External parking bays
• Vehicle access roads
• Pedestrian walkways
• Site perimeters

Dedicated street lighting solutions, such as those featured on Lightsave’s LED street lighting range, provide efficient, long-life illumination designed for exterior hospitality environments. These luminaires deliver high output, controlled distribution and durability suitable for continuous outdoor use.

Upgrading legacy HID and SON lighting

Many hotel car parks still rely on older HID or SON lamps, which are energy-intensive, slow to start and costly to maintain. Upgrading these installations is one of the fastest ways for hotels to reduce operating costs while improving light quality.

The Philips TrueForce range offers an ideal solution for car park upgrades, providing a like-for-like LED replacement for traditional HID and SON lamps. Benefits include:

• Significantly reduced energy consumption
• Instant full brightness with no warm-up time
• Improved light quality and colour consistency
• Reduced maintenance and longer service life

TrueForce lamps allow hotels to upgrade existing luminaires without major infrastructure changes, making them particularly attractive for retrofit projects and phased upgrades.

Lighting controls and energy efficiency

Car parks often operate for long hours but experience variable occupancy. Intelligent lighting controls can dramatically reduce energy use while maintaining safety and usability.

Using systems such as Philips Dynalite or iLight, hotels can:

• Implement occupancy-based dimming in low-traffic zones
• Increase light levels automatically when movement is detected
• Schedule lighting to align with peak usage times

At a wider estate level, Interact Hospitality enables facilities teams to monitor lighting performance, identify faults early and standardise control strategies across multiple sites and car parks.

Electrical infrastructure and safety considerations

Car parks rely on dependable electrical infrastructure to support:

• Lighting and control systems
• Payment, access control and ANPR systems
• EV Charging infrastructure
• Emergency Lighting and signage

Electrical systems must be robust, clearly zoned and designed for ease of maintenance. Poor electrical planning can result in downtime, safety risks or operational disruption.

Lightsave works closely with hotel operators to ensure car park electrical infrastructure is compliant, scalable and ready to support future technologies such as expanded EV charging.

Maintenance, durability and lifecycle planning

Car park lighting installations are often difficult to access and expensive to maintain. Durability and long service life are therefore critical considerations.

Lightsave’s procurement-led approach helps hotels:

• Specify long-life LED solutions
• Reduce lamp and gear replacement frequency
• Standardise products across internal and external car parks
• Plan upgrades and refurbishments efficiently

LED technology significantly reduces maintenance interventions, while consistent specification ensures predictable performance over time.

Commissioning and long-term performance

Lighting systems in car parks must be carefully commissioned to ensure safety, reliability and energy efficiency. Poor commissioning can result in dark zones, nuisance switching or excessive energy use.

Lightsave provides professional system commissioning services, including:

• Configuration of control zones and sensors
• Testing of emergency and safety lighting
• Verification of lighting levels and coverage

This ensures car park lighting performs exactly as intended from day one.

Why Lightsave for hotel car park projects

Hotel car parks demand lighting solutions that prioritise safety, efficiency and durability. With 30 years of hospitality experience and Signify Gold Partner status, Lightsave offers trusted expertise backed by proven technologies.

We provide:

• Hospitality-focused operational insight
• Access to Philips TrueForce, street lighting and Signify systems
• Scalable procurement and logistics support
• Expert commissioning and long-term aftercare

Speak to Lightsave to discuss how we can support your hotel car park lighting and electrical strategy — improving safety, reducing costs and delivering reliable performance across your entire site.