The Complete Guide to Light Pole Installation

Street and parking lot lights deliver powerful illumination across extensive outdoor areas where safety and visibility matter most. Light poles serve as mounting platforms for fixtures that brighten highways, commercial parking areas, residential streets, and pedestrian pathways. Most installations feature 1 to 4 fixtures positioned at or near the pole top, casting light downward to maximize ground coverage and minimize light pollution.

Light poles are constructed from steel, aluminum, or fiberglass, with wood and concrete alternatives offering cost-effective solutions for specific applications. Round and square profiles accommodate different aesthetic and structural requirements. Installation success depends on location conditions, intended use, pole specifications, and local building codes. Proper installation ensures safety and optimal performance, while understanding your area’s EPA wind rating prevents dangerous failures. We recommend reviewing our comprehensive blog post on the EPA Wind Rating Map to determine your region’s wind load requirements.

Critical Pre-Installation Requirements

• Research municipal regulations before breaking ground. Local ordinances dictate pole placement restrictions, fixture mounting heights, and lighting uniformity requirements that vary significantly between jurisdictions.
• Commercial and residential installations demand different approaches. Residential poles can utilize soil compaction or cement anchoring, while commercial applications require concrete foundations to handle increased structural loads and environmental stresses.
• Calculate your area’s average wind speed rating. Your pole selection and foundation design must exceed expected wind loads by appropriate safety margins—this isn’t optional for safe installation.

Understanding Installation Methods

Direct Burial

Direct burial, or embedded installation, involves placing the pole shaft directly into an excavated hole. We recommend aluminum or fiberglass poles for this method since they resist corrosion over decades of ground contact. The excavation can be backfilled with compacted soil or filled with concrete depending on soil conditions and load requirements.

• Soil evaluation determines installation feasibility and required burial depth.
• Ground conditions must provide adequate bearing capacity without water retention issues.
• Loose sand or unstable soil creates insufficient foundation support regardless of burial depth.
• Optimal soil composition includes clay, stable earth, silt, and minimal crushed stone content.
• Pole length increases by 10% of above-ground height plus 2 feet to account for buried sections, though actual requirements vary with soil conditions and engineering specifications.

Anchor-based

Anchor-based systems secure poles to concrete piers using base plates, anchor bolts, and securing hardware. This approach offers superior long-term maintenance access and replacement capabilities.

• Steel poles perform exceptionally well with anchor-based mounting systems.
• Maintenance and replacement occur without excavation, reducing long-term operational costs.
• Parking lot applications benefit from anchor-based installations due to accessibility and durability advantages.

Direct Burial Installation Process

Direct burial installations can utilize backfill compaction or concrete fill based on soil conditions and structural requirements.

Direct Burial Using Backfill

1. Excavate a hole measuring twice the pole diameter. Reference these burial depth specifications:

• Pole Length: 8′-18′ – Hole Depth: 3 feet
• Pole Length: 18.1′-25′ – Hole Depth: 4 feet
• Pole Length: 25.1′-40′ – Hole Depth: 5 feet
• Pole Length: 40.1′-50′ – Hole Depth: 6 feet

2. Position the pole while routing electrical wires through cable entrance points to the hand hole access. 3. Add 4 to 6 inches of backfill material. Check vertical alignment with a plumb bob and compact thoroughly before proceeding. 4. Continue adding backfill in 4 to 6-inch increments, checking plumb alignment and compacting each layer.

Direct Burial Using Concrete

Concrete burial follows the same excavation and positioning steps, substituting concrete mix for backfill material to create permanent, high-strength foundations.

Anchor-based Installation Procedures

Anchor-based installations offer two proven methods depending on site conditions and performance requirements.

Concrete Pier Anchor Method

Most anchor installations require concrete piers engineered for stability and load distribution. High-cement concrete mixes ensure maximum strength and longevity. Pier dimensions correspond to pole height and wind load calculations. Anchor bolts are positioned during concrete placement using precision templates. Allow complete curing time—typically 28 days—for optimal pier strength before pole installation.

Begin installation with your bolt pattern template and support hardware, typically included with pole shipments. Templates can be custom-cut from plywood or purchased as universal anchor bolt positioning tools.

1. Complete excavation, place concrete forms, and prepare anchor bolt assemblies.
2. Mark and drill precise bolt pattern locations according to pole specifications.
3. Mount bolts to template ensuring proper thread orientation and projection height.
4. Level template on concrete forms and secure to support framework. Attach supports to H-frame for stability during concrete placement.
5. Attach reinforcing cage to support structure according to engineering drawings.
6. Place concrete and maintain template position until initial set occurs, then remove template hardware.

Helix Anchor Foundation Method

Helical anchor systems eliminate concrete requirements using large-diameter steel plates that screw into stable soil layers. The helical plates function like oversized corkscrews, providing exceptional holding power in suitable soil conditions. Installation requires hydraulic rotary equipment to achieve proper torque and depth specifications.

Professional Installation Recommendations

Successful light pole installation requires precision from start to finish. Direct burial installations demand accurate vertical alignment during backfill compaction—crooked poles create safety hazards and lighting deficiencies. Anchor-based systems require millimeter-precise bolt positioning; misaligned anchor bolts make pole mounting impossible without costly corrections. We strongly recommend consulting with structural engineers for foundation design verification and certified electricians for code-compliant electrical installation. Engineers ensure your foundation meets local wind load requirements and soil conditions, while qualified electricians guarantee compliance with NEC standards and municipal electrical codes. Review our additional resources covering light pole components, purchasing guidelines, and long-term maintenance strategies.

Why Choose LED Lighting Supply as Your Light Pole Supplier

LED Lighting Supply’s experienced product specialists provide expert guidance throughout your pole selection process, ensuring compatibility between your chosen fixtures, mounting hardware, and local environmental conditions. Our team performs comprehensive energy savings calculations for your specific installation, demonstrating precise ROI timelines and operational cost reductions. We create complimentary custom lighting plans tailored to your facility’s unique requirements, incorporating photometric analysis and uniformity calculations that satisfy municipal lighting ordinances. With over a decade of commercial lighting expertise, our specialists understand the critical relationship between pole specifications, wind load ratings, and fixture performance across diverse applications from parking lots to street lighting systems.