Changing light bulbs and fixtures can pose a challenge when they are up high or out of reach due to obstacles in the way. Whether indoors or outdoors, hiring a professional commercial lighting technician who can use a bucket truck can keep you and your employees safe and your building well-lit. Here’s a guide to the benefits of bucket trucks and examples of successful commercial lighting projects conducted by Bay Lighting in Maryland using bucket trucks.

How To Reach Challenging Light Bulbs/Fixtures

If you have hard-to-reach light bulbs and fixtures at your commercial building, it can be risky and unproductive to do-it-yourself. Weigh your options to determine the best course of action for your project. What seems best to you?

• Light bulb changing kit with extension pole: These light bulb grabbing devices can reach 15-feet high or more, making them an option for places with high ceilings. However, these can be tricky to use and even dangerous if not used properly.
• Ladders: Ladders can be safer options for bulbs or fixtures 8-10-feet high (depending on the ladder), but this option can also be dangerous for the user due to risk of ladder instability and falling.
• Lifts/scaffolding: While these are often available to rent, there is both a learning curve and expense involved (and they can be rather costly). Plus, scaffolding is difficult to move and use. It’s best to hire a professional if you think you’ll need lifts or scaffolding to reach your fixtures.
• Bucket truck: Bucket trucks aren’t easy to rent, and you typically need training or certification (depending on your state), so it’s best to work with a professional and rent a truck with an operator. However, they can be great for high or hard-to-reach places.

Leave lighting bulb and fixture maintenance and replacement to the professionals. In general, hiring a trained and licensed bucket truck operator to change light bulbs and fixtures is best for safety and peace of mind.

What Are Bucket Trucks?

Bucket trucks, also known as cherry pickers or aerial work platforms, are utility trucks equipped with an extendable, hydraulic boom carrying a large bucket for raising workers to elevated, inaccessible areas. They are designed to safely lift people into the air to perform work that can’t be easily or safely reached otherwise.

Benefits of Bucket Trucks

Working with professionals who use bucket trucks comes with a variety of benefits, including:

• Safety: Bucket trucks provide a safer way for workers to access elevated work areas compared to ladders or scaffolding. Workers are securely harnessed in the bucket, reducing the risk of falls.
• Reach and accessibility: These trucks have extendable booms that allow workers to reach heights and angles that might otherwise be difficult or dangerous to access.
• Efficiency: Bucket trucks enable workers to complete tasks more efficiently and quickly. These vehicles also come in various sizes and configurations, making them adaptable to a wide range of applications.
• Increased productivity: Workers can carry tools and equipment with them in the bucket, reducing the need to climb up and down which makes completing the job faster.
• Precision: Operators can precisely position the bucket, allowing for accurate work on specific areas or objects.

Bucket Truck Case Studies

EconoPark Express Parking Lot

EconoPark Express is a short and long-term parking lot company servicing Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI), BWI Amtrak Station, and BWI Rental Car Facility customers (parking available 24/7, shuttles run continuously). They reached out to Bay Lighting for a total lighting solution focused on enhanced lighting with the goal to ultimately grow business.

Bay Lighting helped create a design, administer rebates, purchase and install LED products, and recycle old materials. They used technical drawings created by RAB Lighting to strategically light all areas using existing poles, converting HID lamps to LED.

As a result, EconoPark had a brighter lot for added safety, reduced maintenance due to longer-lasting LED fixtures, and lower operating costs. (Annual savings: $9,500; Rebates paid: $7,800; Payback: Less than 3.5 years; Energy savings: 73,076 kWh/year (66% annual kWh savings)).

Bucket trucks allowed this to happen safely with no interruption to daily operation.

Learn more about Bay Lighting’s successful parking lot lighting project with EconoPark Express here.

Hotel Exterior Lighting

Management at a hotel in Annapolis had a desire to convert to LED lighting in all exterior areas to increase light and decrease energy being used due to older technology.

They consulted Bay Lighting, who recommended the manufacturer RAB (known for quality products and 5-year warranty). Proven products were selected for areas throughout the parking lot, and 21 exterior RAB LED fixtures were installed by Bay Lighting with use of bucket trucks.

Bucket trucks allowed Bay Lighting to reach parking lot poles and replace outdated fixtures safely and easily. Results included increased light levels for a more brightly lit, safer parking lot, showcasing to guests and staff that hotel management cares about their safety and experience. (Rebates: $3,200 savings on product alone; Energy and maintenance savings: $4,303.)

Monarch Hills Apartments

Bay Lighting worked with apartment management to replace outdoor lamps at this apartment complex. New lamps allowed for increased lighting and safety in parking lot and outdoor areas. The use of bucket trucks allowed Bay Lighting to go both over and up to reach high, hard-to-reach locations.

Why Work With Maryland Commercial Lighting Professionals

Working with a company who uses bucket trucks can allow you to safely and efficiently get tasks done that otherwise may be difficult or unsafe. They can quickly and more easily convert outdoor lighting for increased energy efficiency, maintenance savings, and reduced overall costs, can recommend lighting solutions that will work for your needs and budget, and can help you find rebates for additional savings.

Plus, bucket trucks are often in high demand, especially during Daylight Savings (when it gets darker earlier) and in winter. Establishing a relationship with a professional can help you get priority if you have burned-out lights or damaged fixtures.

Bay Lighting is Your Local Lighting Expert

Bay Lighting has been providing commercial lighting solutions in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia since 2003. Our areas of expertise include both commercial and residential properties, full LED retrofits, and installations. If you have lighting needs, contact us today and we’ll help you find the best lighting solutions for you.