Nighttime construction, grading, and excavation activities have always been potentially more dangerous than daytime construction due to obvious reasons of limited visibility. This limited visibility can be caused by both darkness and it's opposite, excessive glare. However, nighttime construction efforts (including those related to highway construction or repair projects) have become more common so as to not interfere with the daily activities of motorists and pedestrians (especially the morning and evening commuters). Any such night work requires a well-thought-out and prepared lighting plan that provides adequate illumination for each specific scheduled nighttime task while supplying a reasonable level of uniform lighting over the rest of the site. Such light should be planned and provided without generating significant glare that would affect equipment operators on the site and passing motorists. In addition to a well-executed plan for utilizing light sources, an equally important plan for supplying the energy required by these light sources is essential. Light sources cannot be considered independent of the mobile power generators that accompany them. Together the two should be considered one piece of equipment. They are no more independent than the drive train and hydraulic systems on a tracked dozer. Both are required for proper functioning.

Lighting is one of the main factors affecting worker safety, quality of workmanship, reduced costs, and productivity as measured in effective use of man-hours and equipment hours. Standards for the lighting of nighttime construction projects have been established by most state departments of transportation, and such standards are usually applied even to no-roadway construction. Once these standards have been applied, a lighting plan can be developed. This lighting plan will depend on the performance characteristics of multiple light sources being used independently or together across the job site. The energy needs of the individual light sources will be provided by the mobile power sources used at the site.