San Diego · Temporary Power Services
Construction Lighting
Light towers, balloon lights and temporary string lighting, positioned for the work rather than pointed at it.
Construction Lighting · San Diego
Lighting That Makes A Shift Workable
Construction lighting is a safety system before it is a convenience. Cal/OSHA sets minimum illumination levels for work areas, walkways and stairwells, and a site that falls short of them is both a citation risk and a place where people get hurt. We rent and position portable light towers, balloon lights and temporary string lighting across San Diego County for night shifts, early winter mornings, interior fit-outs with no permanent fixtures and roadworks that can only happen after the traffic dies down. Placement is the whole job: a tower aimed carelessly puts glare straight into an operator’s eyes and leaves a black shadow exactly where the work is, which is worse than no tower at all. Most light towers carry a generator, so a single unit will often light the area and run tools — and where the site needs more than that, we will put a proper generator alongside it.
Why Go With Us For Site Lighting
Anyone can drop a light tower in a car park. Putting four of them where they overlap without glaring, cover the traffic routes as well as the work face, and still work when the building goes up another storey takes someone who has done it before. We plan lighting to the site rather than to the unit count, aim and mask the fixtures on delivery, and come back and move things as the job changes. The same thinking applies to our site cameras, which depend on the site being lit well enough to record something usable, and to the temporary electrical service that most of this equipment plugs into.
- Diesel, solar and LED towers, so the right unit goes to a residential street and to an industrial yard.
- Positioned and aimed on delivery for overlap and glare control, not dropped and left.
- Cal/OSHA minimum illumination levels treated as the floor rather than the target.
- Solar and battery towers for residential and noise-sensitive sites, where a diesel unit running all night is not acceptable.
- Interior string lighting and high-bay temporary lighting for fit-outs with no permanent fixtures hung.
- Repositioned as the structure changes, included in the rental rather than charged per visit.
Reasons To Rent Construction Lighting
Lighting goes on a site for more reasons than working after dark:
The shift starts before it is light
Trades that start at six lose real hours in winter, and on the coast the marine layer keeps mornings dark well past seven for months. A couple of towers make the first two hours of the day productive, which pays for the rental inside a week.
The work has to happen at night
Roadworks, utility cuts, tenant fit-outs in occupied buildings and anything in a live retail or industrial environment often can only run after hours. Those shifts need proper area lighting, not a couple of work lights on stands.
The building has no fixtures yet
An interior fit-out with the permanent lighting not yet hung is dark in the middle of the day, and industrial ceiling heights make it worse. Temporary string lighting and high-bay units are what make that space workable.
The schedule has slipped and you are working late
Second shifts get added when a date is at risk, usually at short notice. Having the lighting sorted before that happens is the difference between working the extra hours safely and sending people home.
A lit site is a harder target
Darkness is what makes an empty site attractive overnight. Lighting on its own deters casual theft, and combined with security cameras it deters a great deal more than either does alone.
You need to pass an inspection or a safety audit
Illumination levels on walkways, stairs and work areas are something a safety audit will measure. If lighting has been raised as a finding, that is a straightforward thing to fix before the next visit.
Send us the site plan and the hours you are working and we will tell you what it takes to light it properly. Call: (858) 295-1371
How We Work
Site walk, load check, permit and utility application, then install. One coordinator from the first call to collection.
1. Plan the coverage
We look at the work faces, the traffic routes, the walkways and the stairs, and work out how many units it takes and where they sit so the light overlaps without glaring at anyone. On a yard with moving plant, keeping light out of operators’ eyes matters as much as putting it on the work.
2. Deliver, position and aim
Towers get positioned, levelled, raised and aimed properly, with masking where a neighbor would otherwise get a floodlight through a bedroom window. String and high-bay lighting gets hung and connected to your site power.
3. Fuel, service and reposition
Diesel towers get refueled on a schedule we run; solar units get checked for panel orientation as the season moves. As the building goes up and blocks the light we come back and move things, which is included rather than extra.
Lighting Equipment We Rent
Different jobs need different light, and the biggest tower is not always the answer:
Portable light tower rental
The standard towable unit: a mast that raises to around thirty feet with four LED or metal-halide fixtures and its own diesel generator, typically running through the night on one tank. The workhorse of site lighting and what most people mean by a light tower.
LED light towers
The same format with LED fixtures instead of metal halide. They draw far less, so the same tank runs considerably longer, they strike instantly rather than needing a warm-up, and the light quality is better for anyone working under it or filming through it.
Solar light tower rental
Battery and solar units with no engine at all: silent, no fuel, no exhaust. The right answer on residential streets, noise-sensitive sites and anywhere a diesel running all night would generate complaints. Battery capacity is what limits them, so we size for the hours you actually need.
Balloon light rental
A diffused inflatable fixture that throws soft light in every direction with essentially no glare. Ideal for roadworks, night paving and any situation where a directional floodlight would dazzle passing traffic or the crew working under it.
Temporary string lighting
Runs of LED festoon strung through a structure to light corridors, stairwells, floor plates and interior work areas. This is what makes an unfinished interior workable, and it is cheap relative to how much difference it makes.
High-bay temporary lighting
For warehouses, industrial buildings and anywhere with height, where string lighting at ceiling level does nothing useful at floor level. Temporary high-bay fixtures get proper illumination down to where people are working.
Light towers as a power source
Most diesel towers carry a generator with spare capacity and outlets on the side, so a single unit will often light an area and run hand tools. Useful on a small site, though it is not a substitute for a properly sized generator once the load grows.
What Light Tower Rental Costs
Light tower rental generally runs $100 to $200 a day, $350 to $700 a week, or roughly $900 to $1,800 a month per unit. What decides it:
- The type of unit. Standard diesel towers are the cheapest; LED towers cost a little more and use much less fuel; solar and battery units carry a premium for the silence.
- How many you need. That comes out of the coverage plan rather than the size of the lot, because sight lines and shadows decide it.
- Length of rental. Weekly and monthly rates are far better than daily, and most sites that need lighting need it for weeks.
- Fuel. Billed on consumption for diesel units. An LED tower will cut this substantially against a metal-halide one on the same hours.
- Interior lighting scope. String and high-bay lighting is priced by the run and the fixture count, and it needs a power source to connect to.
- Repositioning. Included in our monthly rate. On a fast-changing structure this happens often enough to matter if somebody is billing per visit.
You get a flat weekly or monthly rate with delivery, positioning, aiming and collection inside it, and repositioning visits included. Most sites take lighting on the same order as their security cameras, since the two are planned around the same sight lines.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to rent a light tower?
Roughly $100 to $200 a day, $350 to $700 a week, or $900 to $1,800 a month per unit in San Diego County. LED towers sit slightly above diesel metal-halide units on rent but well below them on fuel, so on a long booking they usually come out cheaper overall. Solar and battery towers carry a premium for running silent.
How much power does a light tower produce?
Most towable diesel light towers carry a generator in the 6kW to 20kW range, with the fixtures using only a fraction of that. That leaves spare capacity on the side outlets for hand tools and small equipment, which is genuinely useful on a small site. It is not enough to run a site of any size, though — for that you want a proper generator.
How long does a light tower run on one tank?
A diesel tower with metal-halide fixtures typically runs 50 to 60 hours on a tank, so most of a working week of nights. LED towers on the same tank commonly reach 100 hours or more because the fixtures draw so much less. Solar and battery units are limited by battery capacity rather than fuel, so we size those to the hours you actually need.
Can a light tower be used as a generator?
For small loads, yes. The auxiliary outlets will run hand tools, chargers and a small compressor comfortably. Do not plan a site around it — the generator is sized for the fixtures with some headroom, not for a construction load, and overloading it leaves you with no light as well as no power.
What lighting does OSHA require on a construction site?
Cal/OSHA sets minimum illumination in foot-candles by area type: broadly 5 foot-candles for general construction areas, walkways and warehouses, 10 for general construction plant and shops, and 3 for concrete placement and excavation work. Corridors, exits and stairways need to be lit whenever anyone is using them. We plan coverage to clear those levels rather than to just meet them.
Do you have quiet light towers for residential streets?
Yes. Solar and battery towers have no engine, so they run completely silent with no exhaust. On a residential street or a noise-sensitive site that is the only specification we will recommend, because a diesel tower running through the night generates complaints and complaints stop jobs.
Need temp power in San Diego?
Tell us about the site and we will call you back within one business hour with a free estimate and a flat-rate quote.
Or call us now: (858) 295-1371