Five Advantages of LED Street Lights

Municipalities are increasingly strained on time and budget. Literature also shows that the second most expensive item on a typical municipality’s budget is street lighting. After analysis, many cities across the world have resorted to incorporating light-emitting diode (LED) street lighting technology for its benefits.

Before the new LED lighting technology, fluorescent and incandescent lights dominated the residential and commercial lighting scenes. Today, no other lighting technology is as popular as LED. From longer lifespan to incredible energy efficiency, LED lighting technology offers a wide range of improvements to the earlier technologies.

Below is a quick look at five advantages of LED street lights.

1.Higher Energy Savings

Replacing traditional street lighting with LED technology has the potential to bring higher energy savings, and there are numerous cases around the globe to demonstrate that.

LED lights use about 75% less energy compared to traditional forms of light. Unlike the older lights, LEDs generate photons instead of using filaments that must be burned. Only 5% of the energy they consume is lost as heat; the rest goes into generating light. This minimal wastage of energy is the biggest reason LED street lighting is better than traditional lighting.

Incandescent street lights have a filament that glows only after it has absorbed current. Only 10% of this current is converted into light, with the rest being lost via thermal radiation. The CFLs are not much better either because they lose approximately 80% of the drawn energy as heat.

2.Lower Maintenance Costs

Looking at the initial cost alone may be misleading, but the total overhead cost gives a clearer picture of these advantages. LED street lights minimize maintenance costs from the moment you install them.

Why is the maintenance cost for other lighting options so high and incomparable to the LED option? Regarding lighting maintenance, three elements come into play. The first is the replacement cost for fixtures and bulbs, the second is the warranty protection, and the final one is the labor cost as you replace the lights.

For the LED Street light, these elements are almost non-existent. This has a huge bearing on the maintenance cost considering that something like labor tends to cost a lot for lights.

The average operation demand for street lights is about 4,000 hours/year, yet most conventional lights can work for 20,000 hours. In five years, these lights will need replacement. A replacement has its related costs including late night work and lane closures. A typical LED street light has about 100,000 hours of service life!

3.Better Lighting Quality

For street lights based on yellow sodium technology, the shift to LED street lighting has more meaning than just aesthetics. Research has shown that safety on the street is extensively improved. The driver’s peripheral vision increases, so there is improved safety. On the same note, people perceive yellow light as unsafe compared to white light.

Even more practically, the optical improvement from LED street lighting is substantial. An even illumination on the surface means that light pools and dark spots are eliminated from the street. Traditional lighting technology is usually unable to achieve the even lighting that LED lights are known for.

The optical precision of LED lights is unmatched. Unlike most traditional lights, LED street lights have minimal light encroachment and any other form of light pollution.

4.Extensive Operating Temperature Range

If your weather is typically cold, you can comfortably use LED street lighting. Forget about the other lights that take ages to warm up or switch on. The LED lights work excellently even in cold weather because they turn on easily within a wide temperature range.

Even in cold weather, quality LED light gives impressive results because it is capable of dissipating heat easily. You only need to choose a light that has a reliable heat dissipation design, something you can confirm from the temperature indication in the product’s datasheet.

The temperature range for LED lights of –25F to 140F means that these lights are applicable for indoor and outdoor use in any country.

5.Controllable Brightness and Intelligent Networks

LED street lights have the advantage of turning on and off instantly without the danger of degradation. These lights are popular for their instant brightness, but that’s not the only advantage offered by the reliance on an electric current.

These lights can operate anywhere within the range of 0-100% of rated power. As long as the lights are equipped with dimming hardware, they can dim as required. Note that this design is LED-only meaning that you cannot get this benefit from conventional street lights.

A related advantage is that when the street light operates at less than full brightness, energy efficiency is achieved. The life of the bulb also increases. Some street lights, for instance, metal halides, lose efficiency with lower brightness. In many instances, you won’t even be able to dim the lights.

Do you want to augment these advantages even more? Add controls and intelligent networks to the lighting system. The lights can become part of effective municipal management of essential services such as traffic flow and parking.

In the battle pitting different street lighting solutions, innovation and technology usually come out tops. LED street lighting is better in almost every aspect. The energy-saving, low-maintenance, and eco-friendly popularity of LED lighting is enough for a big competitive advantage over traditional lights.

If you are interested in more information about professional LED lighting and how it wins against other technologies, feel free to contact us anytime.