Night Lights

6 bay car wash, do I leave the lights on all night or what?
Is it just secutiry or is there business in them wee hours.
What do you guys do.

I am not an owner, but I would say leave them on. When your customer drives by at night and sees the lot lit up it might help them to remember to go back there when its time to wash vs if they past by a lot that looks "shut down"

I would leave them on #1 security! and just like homer said when they drive by at night and see it lit up they will remember to go back! Also there are those that do wash in the wee hours! Ive seen on my cameras a person pull up at 2am and vacuum... I believe most SS washes are considered open 24hrs... correct me if im wrong guys.

It should depend on your area and your clientèle. I can see at a glance via a networked camera system how many people have used the wash at night between midnight and sunrise, and it's almost never more than two. A friend of mine runs a wash in a small town that had no traffic at all after midnight, so he shuts the lights off then. Another location is high crime, so all the lights are on at night for security.

I may start turning off the back row of lights at midnight at our wash. The lights are bright enough that one per bay is plenty by which to see.

When we owned self service car washes we turned our lights off at night at 10 PM.
1. The business after 10PM to dawn was far less then the cost of operating the lights.
2. With lights off, it is difficult for thieves the pretend that they are "washing their car".
3. Any one after 10 would be up to no good.
4. Cab drivers would like to sleep in the bays while they were waiting for calls, added to security.

BUT we had the same problems, people trying to get in, we just made it harder for them. We had more problems with bad bills.

Went by my car wash this AM at 0430 and a guy pulls up and starts washing his car! It was even raining! Between security, advertising and the occasional car wash, I think leaving the lights on all night is a great idea!

Leave em on!!!!!! Buy some compact fluorescents, which save money while operating if you're concerned about costs. SS car washes are a business that folks expect to be open 24/7/365. Start closing it at night and it gives people a reason to stay away; you want to give them a reason to stop in and spend money.

Also, a lighted sign and well lit bays/lot advertises your business all night long to passersby.

In my opinion, leaving them on provides security and advertisement. On security, at least your faithful customers who might drive by in the wee hours of the night, or cops who are patroling may be able to thwart the efforts of a thief or vandal. I've had both happen at night, but I fear to find out what would have happened without the lights on!

I think more importantly is the advertisement factor. You'll spend more at night with the lights on than the occasional midnight washer may spend with you, but at least you provided him/her the convienence. Also, everyone who drives by will most likely turn to look at your place.

So let them shine!

I had a 6 bay with 2 400w metal halides in each bay plus a fluorescent back lit canopy along the front of all the bays.
Turning off my lights after 12 pm every night saved me a lot of money over the years and I don't think caused more vandalism. I would turn off both metal halides in bays 1 & 6, one of them in bays 2 & 5, and leave bays 3 & 4 (center two bays) fully lit. I would also reduce some vac island lighting.
That would leave two bays fully lit, two bays partially, and two bays with some fluorescent lighting from the front.

I had a power study done on that location before cutting back and 25% of my power bill was lighting.

I had a twelve bay wash. I left the lights on in six bays
and had motion sensor lights in the others. Motion sensor
lights worked out well and I would recommend it. They would scoot when the motion light activated if they were not intending to wash their car. I never really had an vandalism. Occassionally I would find condoms and a few beer cans in these bays (before the motion sensors).
As Mep1 indicated - it depends upon your clientele.
A friend of mine that has 7 self serves car washes and shuts his lights down at midnight and brings them back up at 6:00 AM. With seven washes - he saves quite a bit.

Joe
www.crowncarwashinc.com