Vandalism and impact damage to outdoor lighting: how to limit the damage

Where the damage comes from

Damage to outdoor lighting rarely has a single cause. In practice we see three groups: deliberate vandalism, accidental impacts and theft. Vandalism is a stone through the lens, a post-top luminaire pulled off its column, graffiti on the column or a forced column door. Impact damage happens by accident: a football against a floodlight in a school playground, a mower against a bollard or a lorry reversing into a column. Theft is mostly about copper: the cable inside the column and the connection box behind the door.

The cause determines the solution. A high IK rating helps against stones, the position of the column helps most against collisions, and a door that cannot be opened with a screwdriver helps against theft. So walk the site before you order any material: where do people gather, where do vehicles drive and what can be reached from the ground?

IK rating: the first choice

The IK rating from IEC 62262 states how much impact energy a housing withstands. IK08 stands for 5 joules, IK10 for 20 joules: a 5 kilo hammer falling from 40 centimetres. In practice IK10 is the highest rating manufacturers state for luminaires; for any higher claim, ask for the test report.

• Out of reach, quiet surroundings: IK08 is enough. The 25 W street luminaire from the VIA series on a 4 metre column is IK08.
• Within reach or within throwing distance: IK10. Think of underpasses, cycle shelters, school playgrounds, bus stops, sports grounds and car parks.
• Ball impact: IK10, even at 6 metres. That is why the padel and tennis court floodlights from the ARENA series are IK10.
• Grounds and facades: within the FLUX series, choose the IK10 versions, such as the 240 W floodlight with 40,800 lumens.

The IK value applies to the housing and lens as tested; after a replaced cover it no longer applies automatically.

Mounting height and position

The cheapest protection is distance. What cannot be reached is vandalised less often. Use these rules of thumb:

• Below 2.5 metres a luminaire is within reach: always IK10, preferably with recessed screws with a special drive.
• A 4 metre column from the TURRIS series puts the light point out of reach, but not out of throwing range. On squares and at hangout spots, still choose IK10.
• A 6 metre column is much harder to hit with a stone and covers more area per column.
• Do not place columns next to fences, containers or benches that someone can climb on.
• Keep columns well behind the kerb and outside the turning circle of lorries; in car parks, an impact bollard protects the column from bumpers.
• Post-top luminaires from the POLARIS series often sit on lower columns, for example 3 to 4 metres with a 60 to 80 mm spigot, and are more exposed to knocks than street luminaires. Place them at least one metre from footpaths and mowing routes.

Guards, covers and materials

If the position cannot be chosen, the product has to do the work. Three parts count: housing, lens and fixing.

• Housing: die-cast aluminium takes knocks better than sheet steel and does not rust.
• Lens or cover: toughened glass is scratch-resistant and colour-stable, but shatters under a hard blow. Polycarbonate flexes and hardly ever breaks, but yellows without a UV stabiliser and scratches more easily. For vandalism-prone locations, polycarbonate or a guard in front of the glass is the better choice.
• Guard: a steel guard catches stones and balls before they reach the lens. It costs a few per cent of light output and should be included in the lighting calculation. Ask with your quotation whether a matching guard is available for the chosen type.
• Fixing: use stainless steel bolts with a non-standard drive, such as pin torx, and lock the bracket so the luminaire cannot be twisted by hand.

The conical steel columns from the TURRIS series are made of S235JR steel, hot-dip galvanised. A small dent in a galvanised steel column is usually cosmetic, whereas an aluminium column bends sooner. If you choose the additionally powder-coated version in RAL 9005, graffiti is easier to remove and scratches show less than on bare zinc.

Lockable columns and a secure door

The door is the weak point of every column. Behind it sit the connection box with fuses and the cable termination, exactly what copper thieves are after. An open door is also a safety risk: there is 230 V behind it.

• Choose a column whose door opens only with a tool or a special key, never with an ordinary screwdriver.
• Use a connection box from the NEXUS series, which fits the door of the TURRIS columns, so the fuse sits right at the column and a short circuit after damage does not switch off the whole street.
• Never leave cable hanging outside the column; bring it in underground.
• Record the key type at handover so your engineer can start straight away after a report.

What replacement really costs

The luminaire is rarely the biggest item in a replacement. Count the journey, an access platform, two engineers, traffic management where needed and disposal of the old material. For a column, add excavation and a new foundation. A post-top luminaire from the POLARIS series costs up to 385 euros excl. VAT, a steel column from the TURRIS series is priced on request, answer within 48 hours. The labour and equipment around that replacement are often a multiple of that.

This is how you keep costs under control:

• Choose IK10 and a guard up front in risk areas; the extra cost is small compared with a single replacement.
• Standardise on one series per site, so every spare luminaire fits every column.
• Keep a small spare stock. We deliver luminaires from European stock within 5 working days, but steel columns have a lead time of 3 to 5 weeks and aluminium columns 4 to 6 weeks. A light point that stays dark for weeks attracts further vandalism.
• Log every incident with a photo, date and location; that helps with insurance and shows where extra measures are needed.

Frequently asked questions