Advantages of LED Streetlights

Eco-friendly LED lights for outdoor applications are becoming quite a trend in today’s society, and the reasons to choose this method of illumination are many. Speaking specifically of streetlights, large municipalities and small towns alike are constantly looking for ways to keep energy costs down while limiting potentially adverse effects on the surrounding environment. Listed below are some ways in which street lights that utilize LED technology come out ahead of the competition.

• Immediate switch-on: As soon as LED lights are turned on, they immediately begin to emit a high level of light. Contrarily, it takes time for the filaments inside of conventional types of streetlights to warm up before they begin to emit the correct level of light for viewing. 
• Requires less maintenance: The lifetime of LED streetlights is usually 10 to 15 years, many times the life of current technologies. LEDs are suitable for places where replacing light bulbs is expensive, inconvenient or otherwise difficult, such as roadways or around bridges and overpasses.
• Durable and efficient: As stated in the previous Norlux blog titled: "LEDs: Energy Efficiency Leaders", LEDs are leading the way in efficiency against other prevalent lighting technologies. LED-based streetlights are also very durable, with no fragile components, and are resistant to heat, cold, and shock and ingress protection.
• Environmentally friendly: LEDs are free from hazardous chemicals, such as mercury and lead. As a side note, LEDs don't produce ultraviolet light, which attracts bugs, so they can be left to their natural pursuits.
• Directional: Because they produce "directional" light (light emitted in one direction, rather than a diffused glow) LEDs can be used to direct light on specific areas. Utilizing LED streetlights reduces “light pollution” of our night skies, allowing for better stargazing opportunities.

Some cities have utilized motion sensor technology with their LED lights, so that the lights increase in brightness when a pedestrian walks by. They can also be made to alert officials to maintenance requirements or to blink rapidly to direct emergency responders to a specific location. By integrating solar panels, the LED street lights can become self-sufficient and virtually maintenance free for a decade.
 

As LED technology evolves even further, it will no doubt become the illumination technology of choice- and not only streetlights, but in all general lighting purposes in the future. For help in the design or manufacture of your LED-based lighting products, contact Norlux today!

 

References:

“Advantages of Having LED Street Lights”: 13 Nov. 2010, By Carol K L Oon http://EzineArticles.com/5375838
“How LED Streetlights Work” by Jacob Silverman

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/led-streetlight1.htm/printable

LEDs: Energy Efficiency Leaders

When it comes to efficient lighting, LEDs are the solution. As Americans, we use from 10-15 kilowatt-hours of energy per day on lighting. How is this calculated? This is just another way of saying that we use the equivalent of twenty-five 60 watt incandescent lamps for an average of 6 hours throughout the day. Realistic estimates predict that introduction of LED lighting to replace incandescent lamps could cut this to one third of our current usage.

In order to understand how to reduce our consumption, we need to review some basic definitions:

• Lamp Life: The expected useful life of light source with end-of-life defined as failure or diminished light output (which is typically expressed in hours).
• Lumen (lm): The output (or relative “brightness”) of a light source normalized to correlate with human vision.
• Watt (W): Standard unit of energy.

With these definitions, we can now begin to evaluate logical buying choices. If we look at a standard 40 watt incandescent lamp, it typically delivers 450 Lumens of light. If we assume our energy cost is $.11 per kilowatt hour and the bulb is operated 3 hours a day for 365 days per year, the annual operating cost is: 3x365x40= 43,800 watt-hours per year. This is approximately 44 kilowatt-hours per year (we need to divide by 1000 to get kilowatts). At $.11 per kilowatt-hour, the bulb would cost us $4.82 per year just to operate.

Source: http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/resources/tools/lighting-assistant-toolkit/simple-life-cycle-cost-estimator.jsp

Now let’s look at two other lamp sources LED (light emitting diode) and CFL (compact florescent lamp) that put out the same amount of light. Since they are more expensive, let’s look at the total cost of ownership over their respective lives using a cost calculator from General Electric.

Notice that the incandescent cost more not only from energy consumption, but due to the fact that you need 5 bulbs per year from short life! Even though the LED solution is the most expensive initially, it is the clear winner in the long run because of long life and low energy consumption.

LED’s have now become the leading choice for indoor lighting. Unlike fluorescent lamps, there is no Mercury content that can be harmful. Although our analysis is a residential example, Norlux stands ready to help you with an OEM solution for you architectural, medical or industrial products! Contact Norlux Today!