A lighting tower is not a bigger floodlight. It answers a specific problem: illuminating a large area, at night, where there is no power to connect to and nothing to mount lights on. If a site has mains and structures, fixed lighting is cheaper and better. If it has neither, nothing else does the job.
When it is genuinely needed
- Night construction and roadworks — the site moves, so the lighting must move with it.
- Emergency and repair work, where light is needed within the hour and not next week.
- Open storage yards, quarries and logistics areas with no lighting infrastructure.
- Events and temporary sites, where installing fixed lighting makes no sense.
- Rescue and restoration operations, where mains supply is exactly what is missing.
Mast height
Height is what turns light into coverage. The higher the fixtures, the wider and more evenly the area is lit, and the fewer harsh shadows fall across working zones. Lowering the mast to save money produces a bright patch and a dark site around it.
Height brings its own requirements: the tower must be stabilised, outriggers deployed on firm ground, and the mast lowered when wind exceeds the rated limit. A tower blown over is a serious accident, and this is one specification line worth reading carefully.
Light source: LED or metal halide
LED has become the sensible default: it draws far less power for the same output, which directly extends run time on a tank of fuel, ignites instantly with no warm-up, tolerates being switched on and off, works better in cold, and survives transport vibration — the environment that kills lamps in mobile equipment.
Metal halide still appears in older and cheaper units. It costs less to buy, needs several minutes to reach full brightness, must cool before restriking, and consumes markedly more fuel over a working night.
Autonomy
The figure that matters on site is how many hours the tower runs on one tank. It is a function of two things: fuel capacity and the power the fixtures draw. This is where LED pays for itself — a lower load means a longer night without refuelling.
The practical test: a full working night without anyone attending to it. Anything less means someone leaves their job to refuel a tower in the dark.
What advertising copy leaves out
- Coverage figures are quoted at ideal height on flat open ground, with no obstructions and no required light level stated.
- Run time is quoted at partial load — with all fixtures on, expect less.
- Noise is rarely mentioned, and matters near housing or where people work all night.
- Weight and towing: how it is moved between locations decides whether the site actually uses it.
- Wind rating and stabiliser requirements — a safety limit, not a recommendation.
- Winter starting: a tower that will not start at low temperature is useless in the season it is needed most.
In short: what to check in the specification
Mast height and coverage at a stated light level; total fixture power and type; fuel capacity and run time at full load; wind limit and stabiliser footprint; noise; weight and how it is transported; cold-start provision.
We supply lighting towers together with generating sets and site equipment, and service what we deliver. Describe the site — area, working hours, how often it relocates — and we will propose a configuration that fits it.