Parking structures – the umbrella term for parking garages, parking platforms (non-canopied parking areas inside or on top of buildings) and underground parking garages – are part of daily life today, not only in urban agglomerations. When it comes to outside appearance, they have long been integrated into the architectural cityscape. On the inside, however, they still often lack user-friendliness and architectural design. Good lighting, quickly and clearly recognisable traffic routeing as well as standardised control and guidance systems increase parking garage acceptance. Light and colours promote traffic safety and order. They serve to protect people and objects. For orientation in parking structures, guidance using bright and possibly coloured recessed LED luminaires is helpful, for example when it comes to looking for unoccupied parking spots.
Lighting of car parks
Lighting of outdoor parking areas is regulated in EN 12464-2 "Light and lighting – Lighting of work places – Part 2: Outdoor work places". Different visual tasks require distinctions for different areas of parking garages. Therefore, the following photometric reference areas are defined for lighting:
Figure 3.154: Reference zones in parking structures