A lit bench is used later into the evening than an unlit one. That is most of the argument for it. Light in a public space extends the hours the space is worth being in, and it does it without adding another pole.
We build the lighting into the furniture instead. A 24-volt LED ribbon runs under the seat, so the light washes down onto the paving and the bench itself stays the thing you notice. We call it City Lights, and it has been in the range since 2017.
What it is
Low-voltage LED ribbon, fixed under the seat boards and fed by a constant voltage driver. We stock drivers at 10, 24, 60 and 100 watts, so the size follows the run rather than the other way round. A surge protector and a weatherproof enclosure for the driver are part of the standard package.
Twenty-four volts matters for two reasons beyond the obvious safety one. It is cheap to run, which is why so many municipalities moved outdoor lighting to LED in the first place. And it keeps the wiring simple enough that a bench can be added to an existing run without redesigning the circuit.
Warm white, or any colour you like
The standard ribbon is 2400K, a warm white that reads closer to a porch light than a street light. RGB and RGBW ribbons are also available, controlled over DMX. That means the colour can be changed for an event, from a phone or a tablet, without anyone visiting the bench.
The RGBW ribbon carries a dedicated white channel alongside the colour ones. It is the version to specify if the lighting has to work as ordinary warm light most of the year and only turn colour occasionally.
Specifying it
Run length, driver size and controller are decided per product, so the lighting is quoted rather than priced from a list. Two drawings are worth having in front of you before that conversation:
- LED lighting and concrete pad detail for a 6ft Rutherford angled-leg bench (PDF) — how the conduit reaches the bench through the pad.
- Multi-bench wiring diagram (PDF) — an example of several benches on one run.
The ribbon, driver, controller, surge protector and enclosure data sheets are all on the Spec Sheets & Downloads page under LED lighting.
Where it is already installed
Thirty Rutherford benches in Olympia, Washington. Rutherford benches and a wide-body bench in West Kelowna. Bollards in Invermere. The Modena bollard carries the same system, and the Mackenzie bench takes it as an illuminated end detail rather than a seat wash.
LED can be specified on most of our benches, picnic tables and bollards. If you have a product in mind, ask and we will confirm it for that model.
