New LED street lights

[matsalleh]

Not seen any of the ones in Sheffield yet but I was visiting my sister in the West Midlands last weekend and they have recently been installed in her local suburb. They look good for starters (touch of class never did any area any harm) but I can also say from a functional point of view the white light looks far safer and more inviting than dingy yellow. They produce much less glare upwards (good news for star gazers!) and sideways (good news for those of you with one bang outside your bedroom window).

 

I understand the energy savings and lifespan of these new ones make financial sense too, since they are being installed as part of this streets ahead malarky anyway - there really isn't all that much to grumble about.

 

Good old Sheffield will find a way though!

Typical of this council,getting something right and depriving people of a bit of pleasure.

[Garbo]

I think your clutching at straws mate,and using your "factual" statements,with no actual data for the new lights.

 

I have the data for the new lights actually.

 

nothing changes the fact that they are using the 52 LED lights using 62 watts to replace 35 watt lights.

 

---------- Post added 09-03-2013 at 12:36 ----------

 

In both the examples i gave the LED lighting is of a lower wattage and gives as much illumination if not more as the halogen bulb it replaces.

 

Home lighting will give approx the same maybe slightly more and the car headlights give a much brighter illumination than both halogen and xenon headlights. Both our cars have xenons and the difference was very noticable compared to the vehicle fitted with LED headlights (I'm talking about the normal dip headlights and not sidelights/daytime running lights here) Check out most of the current Prius' you see on the road now as the majority i've seen now have LED lighting fitted along with a lot of high end Mercs and Audis.

 

As you say the crisp bright light isn't to everyone's taste but i would also say people said the same when cars first had xenon headlights as everyone was saying they are too bright and dazzling etc.... and that energy saving bulbs were too white compared to good old 60w lightbulbs..... Now we're just used to them.

 

 

And I don't believe EVERYTHING the council tell me.... As an employee of Network Rail we've been using LED technology for quite a while now and in all our applications the energy efficency has been better than that of the systems they've replaced.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Dave.

 

 

you edited your post after i replied. I did say that in the home they are more energy efficient, but for streetlights, there are more energy efficient alternatives.

[Wilson221]

but won't the larger 52 LED units be for the main roads on the 10,12 metre columns

on the side roads won't they install the smaller 10,14 or 18 LED units with the 6 metre columns

 

SCC didn't upgrade all the columns on the main roads and you can find ones with the old 35w lamps but where they have upgraded you'll find the larger 100w and 150w units or 90w and 135w sodium lights

[biotechpete]

I just hope we didn't get the same lights as Leeds:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-15219798

 

My councillor assured me not, I hope he's right.

[the_rudeboy]

they have replaced 35watt SOX with 52watt led lights

There isn't much 35w Sox left in Sheffield, most of it has already been replaced with 50 and 70w son over the years The new LED installations on residential roads run at around 30-40w.

 

---------- Post added 09-03-2013 at 14:06 ----------

 

im not reading through all that, but they dont compare LED with the most efficient alternative.

 

SOX lights give about 200 lumens per watt.

 

the new LED lights being installed in sheffield are about 100 - 120 lumens per watt.

 

therefore SOX is more efficient than LED.

 

Sorry, i got it the wrong way round.

 

the lights i have seen replacing the 35 watt sox lights are 52 led arrays, consuming between 62 watts and 123 watts

That last bit just isn't true. The 52 led units installed in sheffield, if run at maximum driver current to achieve their maximum lumen output, consume 62w. Very few will be run at their maximum output. Residential roads are mostly being lit with 30 led units.

 

---------- Post added 09-03-2013 at 14:14 ----------

 

I did say that in the home they are more energy efficient, but for streetlights, there are more energy efficient alternatives.

The efficacy of the light source isn't the whole story though. Using a white light source (like LED) means the roads can be lit to a lower light level than using sodium light sources.

Edited March 9, 2013 by the_rudeboy

[Garbo]

the manufacturers figures must be wrong then...

[Wilson221]

The manufactures data isn't wrong but you are comparing a 35w sox lamp, to a lantern that will used on the major roads

 

35w sox lamp gives out about 4,400 lm, the 123w LED unit gives out 12,700 lm

 

plus another thing that needs to be added to the equation is the start up current for a sox lamp or even a son lamp

[the_rudeboy]

the manufacturers figures must be wrong then...

 

The data isn't wrong, you just don't know what units are being installed in Sheffield or how to interpret the data.

[BLADE8T1]

The data isn't wrong, you just don't know what units are being installed in Sheffield or how to interpret the data.

 

Spot on,he's using the best data for the son's,and comparing them to the worst case scenario of a large LED unit.

The way forward(for now anyways)is LED's my friend,in most applications.

[S10Hooligans]

Will the replacement lights always be in a new position?

 

I really hope so - we've one outside our house on the grass verge and it's just a dog turd magnet.