GABS Arrowgate bus depot canopy and forecourt lit at dusk, exterior lighting by Lamphouse LED Solutions

Proven at a working transport depot · Cape Town

GABS Arrowgate:
exterior that runs 24/7.

A live bus depot never really closes: the canopies, the forecourt, the yard and the perimeter all have to stay lit, even, and secure through the night shift. Lamphouse LED Solutions lit the Golden Arrow Arrowgate facility for round-the-clock operation and CCTV-grade uniformity. Real project, real photographs, see more below.

See the work →

01 · The exterior problem

Cheap outdoor kit
doesn't survive here.

Exterior lighting is where the cheapest fitting looks fine on the quote and fails first on site. South African conditions are brutal on outdoor LED: relentless UV degrades poor housings and lenses, dust and driving rain find their way past a weak IP seal, and an unstable grid sends surges through fittings that have no protection, so they die in ones and twos until the carpark is a patchwork of dark spots. Then there's the brief most quotes ignore entirely: the light has to actually serve the security cameras (uniform, with vertical lux on faces and number plates) . We spec IP- and IK-rated, surge-protected fittings built for the conditions, aim them for uniformity and the security case, and control them so they're only burning power after dark.

02 · The technical envelope

Designed to
SANS 10114.

Exterior lux is lower than interior but driven by uniformity, glare and the security/CCTV requirement, plus ingress, impact and surge ratings for the environment. Typical design targets below, aligned to the SANS 10114 / exterior-lighting framework. We confirm against the site's security brief and any roadway authority requirement.

Area	Target lux (typical)	What drives the spec
Carparks, general	20-50 lux	Safe vehicle and pedestrian movement; higher at entrances and pay points. Uniformity to avoid dark pockets.
Service yards & loading	50 lux	Vehicle manoeuvring and handling; IP65, impact-rated near traffic.
Internal roadways	10-30 lux (by class)	Roadway lighting class per traffic and speed; controlled glare for drivers.
Pedestrian paths & entrances	10-20 lux	Wayfinding and reassurance; good vertical light for facial recognition and safety.
Perimeter & security	20-50 lux + CCTV	Uniform light with vertical lux on faces and plates so cameras get usable footage.
Building façade & architectural	Scene-driven	Feature and accent lighting to the design intent; dark-sky and spill control where required.
High-mast (large areas)	Uniformity-driven	Container yards, large carparks and depots: fewer poles, engineered for SA wind loads, aimed for even coverage.

Lux figures are typical design targets for guidance, aligned to the SANS 10114 / exterior-lighting framework, with IP, IK and surge ratings specified to the environment and uniformity/CCTV requirements applied per security brief. Roadway lighting is confirmed against the relevant class and authority requirement. Ask for the exterior lighting layout and aiming plan with your proposal.

· On site

Real exterior
projects.

Solar street lighting on an off-grid road, a retail-centre carpark, the Golden Arrow Arrowgate depot and the Blaauwberg Beach Hotel on the Cape coast: façade, forecourt, carpark, yard and perimeter, lit and photographed on real Lamphouse LED Solutions projects. Not stock.

Solar LED street light on a pole lighting an off-grid residential road at night, solar streetlight by Lamphouse LED Solutions — Solar street lighting, off-grid road

Pole-top LED street lights over a retail-centre carpark, mall carpark area lighting by Lamphouse LED Solutions — Mall carpark, pole-top streetlights

Aerial view of Blaauwberg Beach Hotel and forecourt at dusk — Blaauwberg Beach Hotel, forecourt at dusk

Aerial of the GABS Arrowgate depot yard, carpark and rooftop solar — Depot yard, carpark & solar (aerial)

Steel perimeter gantry and elevated walkway at the GABS Arrowgate depot — Perimeter gantry & walkway

Service bays and lanes under the GABS Arrowgate depot canopy — Service bays & canopy lighting

03 · Where it applies

Six exterior jobs
we do regularly.

Commercial parks, retail centres, industrial yards, estates, municipal spaces and large facilities, the site changes but the discipline doesn't. Rate it for the weather, aim it for uniformity, control it for the dark.

A / Carparks

Carparks & decks

Even, glare-controlled light across surface lots and parking decks, with entrances and pay points lifted, uniform enough that there are no dark spots for incidents to hide in.

B / Roadways

Roadways & access roads

Internal roads, estate streets and access routes lit to the right roadway class, with controlled glare and the uniformity that keeps drivers safe.

C / Perimeter

Perimeter & security

Security lighting that actually serves the cameras, uniform, with vertical lux on faces and plates, instead of pools of glare and shadow along the fence line.

D / High-mast

High-mast & yards

Container yards, depots and large lots: fewer, taller masts engineered for SA wind loads, aimed for even coverage across a big footprint.

E / Façade

Façade & architectural

Feature and accent lighting that makes a building landmark after dark, with spill and dark-sky control where the brief or the bylaw requires it.

F / Controls

Photocell & timeclock

Dusk-to-dawn photocells, timeclocks and zoning so exterior lighting is only on when it's needed, and surge protection so it survives the grid that switches it.

04 · Our customers

Names on our
forecourts & perimeters.

Depots, yards, perimeters and facades we've lit outdoors.

+& more

A selection of clients we've supplied and/or installed for.

05 · Why Lamphouse

Independent specifiers,
built for SA conditions.

Exterior is where cheap kit and the wrong spec cost you twice, once on the failed fittings, again on the security incident in the dark spot. Because we import across the best weatherproof ranges, we pick the fitting that survives the UV, the wind and the grid here, then aim and control it to do the security job properly.

A designer takes the brief

Every site starts with a lighting designer running the area layout, the uniformity grid and the security/CCTV requirement, then we spec IP/IK-rated, surge-protected fittings and the controls to match.

B-BBEE Level 2, built for public tender

Municipalities, property funds and security-graded supply chains can procure from us without an exception process. Certificate current, documentation ready the day you ask.

Installed for the conditions

Masts and floodlights engineered for local wind loads and surge conditions, installed by our project-managed crews, with a maintenance plan for the sites where access means a cherry-picker after dark.

06 · In the field

GABS Arrowgate, a depot that never goes dark.

Case study · Exterior

Aerial of a large Lamphouse-lit exterior facility, the GABS Arrowgate depot yard and carpark, Cape Town — Exterior at scale · GABS Arrowgate, Cape Town

"A bus depot runs through the night: the canopies, the yard and the perimeter all have to stay lit, even and secure until the first shift rolls out."

Golden Arrow's Arrowgate is a working transport depot in Cape Town: a round-the-clock operation where exterior lighting carries safety and security across the maintenance canopies, the forecourt, the vehicle yard and the perimeter. It's exactly the setting where cheap, under-rated fittings or a poorly aimed layout would fail fast and leave dark spots where it matters most.

Lamphouse LED Solutions delivered this as a real project: design, supply and install under one team: with IP- and IK-rated, surge-protected fittings built for SA conditions, aimed for the uniformity the cameras need across a large, busy site.

Whether it's a transport depot, a shopping-centre carpark or an industrial yard, the approach is the same: rate it for the conditions, aim it for uniformity and security, control it for the dark. Brief our team on your site →

Got a site that's
dark where it shouldn't be?

Tell us about it: the areas to light (carpark, yard, perimeter, façade), the security or CCTV requirement, the existing poles or masts, and your capex envelope. We'll come back inside the week with an exterior lighting layout, IP/IK and surge spec, an aiming and uniformity plan, a controls strategy and a costed bill of materials.

Brief our team → Call Joburg · 011 608 2565 → Call Cape Town · 021 551 6322 → Call Durban · 031 564 0710 →

info@thelamphouse.co.za
Mon-Thu 07:30-17:00 · Fri 07:30-16:00

GABS Arrowgate:exterior that runs 24/7.

Cheap outdoor kitdoesn't survive here.

Designed toSANS 10114.

Real exteriorprojects.

Six exterior jobswe do regularly.