3 pole lot lighting circuits

[apjames]

ive done alot of work on parking lot lighting, im still young though, and ive only ever seen 2 pole circuits. came across a store that had (4) 3 pole parking lot lighting circuits. each circuit fed (2) 4 headed poles. what is the purpose of that and how would you wire the pole up? ive never seen a 3 phase hid ballast. i was only there to move a circuit from one contactor to another, didnt even have time to open up a pole base or head. just curious, thanks.

 

[augie47]

Could be wired any number of ways, but basically you are spreading the load over all three phases. You have a total of 12 fixtures,., ideally you would have (4) wired to Phases A-B, (4) to B-c and (4) to A-C.
Basically with only 2 phases (208v) on a 20 amp circuit you have 4.1 kw available, where with all three phases 7.2 kw.

 

[iwire]

I agree with Augie and will add that doing it the way he describes saves wire.

It is also very common in large parking lots.