Tips on How to Add Lights in Canopies
One of the most frequent requests we get when discussing the installation of entrance canopy systems is, “Can we add lights?” The answer to this question is absolutely! We coordinate the installation of lights in our canopies on an ongoing basis. But as with most things, we have an expert opinion on the best way to accomplish this upgrade.
Plan Ahead
The coordination of lights into canopies is not complex if you do it at the beginning of the project. Many times, the architectural drawings show these lights in the canopies, which allows us to incorporate them into our shop drawings.
However, sometimes these lights are only shown in the electrical plans (which we never review), and so we do not know how to add them to our design. To help avoid this miscommunication, we have started adding notes into our shop drawings to ask general contractors and architects to confirm the presence of lights in the canopies.
Pick the Correct Light
Oftentimes, the specified light is not ideal for our canopies. Follow these steps for some of the best practices when picking a light.
1. Make sure it is an exterior light. This means it can stand up to the outside conditions. It does not need to be waterproof, but should be able to withstand outdoor conditions, not corrode, and be a durable, long-lasting unit.
2. Be certain that the fixture is not too heavy for our canopy to support. The canopies are designed to accept the additional deadload of regular lights (5-10 lbs.), but nothing more than that, a 30-40 lb. fixture and box.
3. Choose a light that will fit inside our canopy panels. This allows us to drill a hole in the panel to receive the light and install a blank off panel cap on the topside to prevent water from entering and causing issues.
Our extruded panels are typically 6” wide and 3” deep. Our roll-formed panels for our Hybrid canopies are 9” wide and 2.5” deep. Picking a light wider than our panel means the hole would be between two panels, which could lead to leaks and jeopardize the structural integrity of the panels. Picking a light taller than our panel means you might run the risk of seeing it above the fascia of the canopy. See the diagram below showing the extruded panel with the blank out panel on top.
Extruded Blank Out Panel
This design includes an upper wall bracket support (#10 above), a horizontal compression tube (#8), and a diagonal brace (#7). Generally speaking, having a taller wall connection helps increase projection, but there is a point where the diagonal brace can become too long and does not add additional strength. Other factors include the quantity and spacing of these braces as well as the size and thickness of both the diagonal brace and compression member.
Besides the overhead-supported canopy design, our other primary extruded aluminum canopy type is the outrigger-supported.
Example of a “bird’s eye” view of the blank off panel.
Here are some examples of lights that we recommend.
4. Once Steps 1-3 for picking the correct light are completed, it is always best to have a quick meeting with the electrician to coordinate the location of their conduit and to figure out timing. It is best to have the electrical run the conduit ahead of the canopy installation and then have them onsite as the actual installation occurs. Then we can cut the hole in our canopy panel, let them install their fixture, and then cap the panel all at once.
Adding lights in canopies is not too difficult to accomplish, and their addition is a nice upgrade for a project. Let us help with your next canopy project, and we will help you add some lights.
