StreetLightNews

There seems to be a trend towards energy savings being used as branding for American cities. More and more are implementing solutions that lower energy consumption, and then use this in their marketing strategy. Whatever works!
In Yakima, Washington, LEDs are replacing both traffic signal lamps and traditional 200 Watt HPS lamps. Initial results show savings of over 50%. The 100 Watt LEDs provide ultra-white lights with good color rendering. Also, the new lamps lowers light polution and has a 15-year product life. Read the full article on SmartMoney.com.
As described in a previous entry, similar projects are under way, e.g. in Ann Arbor where they are planning on becoming the first American city to convert 100% of their street light to LEDs. See more here…

Wouldn’t it be brilliant if cities and towns did not have to rely on residents to report street light outages? Typing ‘street light’ into a search engine provides hundreds of hits on cities urging their inhabitants to report any outages. Some even offer coloured ribbons which can be tied around the poles in order to help maintenance crews locate them.

Several companies offer solutions which can improve maintenance procedures and increase control with the street lights: Amplex, Cristal Control and Streetlight.Vision.

In the Iraqi town of Fallujah, mostly known for insurgent activity, things have started to quiet down, allowing for an increased focus on rebuilding the infrastructure.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing efforts to equip the town’s east-west thoroughfare with solar powered street light. With 1,050 lighting points, this will be the biggest solar powered installation worldwide to date, according to the manufacturer, SEPCO.

The system is being installed at the rate of 20 poles per day, and besides Fallujah, 4 other Iraqi towns and 17 villages in Afghanistan have been equipped with solar electric lighting systems.

Read the full article here…

A growing number of people are convinced that they possess the ability to affect street lights by their mere presence. The phenomenon is known as Street Light Interference, hence SLIders.

SLIders report that they have a paranormal effect on both street lights and electrical applicances. I know of several companies making modules for improved street light control. Someone should pitch this idea to them: Make a module that prevents the lights from turning off when they are passed by a SLIder, and sell the world’s first SLIder-proof street light system.

Read the full article on the phenomenon here…

BBC News is reporting that more than 15,000 street light columns, or over 85% of the stock, will be replaced in Redcar and Cleveland, UK. The existing columns have passed their 25-year life expectancy, and another 2,500 street lights will be added over the next few years in order to raise the standard of the cities’ public lighting. It has been established that the distance between the existing lights is too large, so the additional 2,500 street lights will ensure better lid roads and improve safety for both motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.

GE has recently decided to cease manufacturing of the relatively inefficient Low Pressure Sodium lamps. This follows a general market trend with a shift towards the newer HID technology with e.g. High Pressure Sodium lamps. These have a better color rendition and whiter output, which is believed to prevent accidents, improve reaction times and reduce crime. Furthermore, the lamps are more efficient, enabling fewer lights, less maintenance and compliance with dark skies recommendations. Read the full article at the Institution of Lighting Engineeers’ website…

Replacing standard street light with new high output LEDs will save 50% energy and they will last more than 10 years. They are maintenance-free, contain no hazardous material such as gases or mercury, and they are dark sky compliant, meaning that their light is focused on the area where it is needed, and not wasted into the night sky.
At the upcoming American Public Works Association event in San Antonio, September 9-12, these new LEDs will be showcased by the company inventing the new effective street light - IntenCity Ligthing.
The new high output LED uses only 75 watts, but produces 3200 lumens. See more here…

American-based Civil Twilight Collective works with exploring how our built, urban environment can apply natural phenomena in a practical way. One of their ideas is to involve the lunar cycle when lighting up the streets.
The lunar-resonant streetlights will sense and respond to the moon, dimming and brighting according to the particular phase the moon is in. The Civil Twilight Collective states on their website that the project will save energy and lower light pollution, giving urban dwellers a better experience of the lunar cycle.
Great idea, but I wonder if it is efficient enough. Each luminaire is equipped with a photosensor, so I suppose they can adjust for clouds. And the cost of equipping every street light with a photocell, dimmer and LED cluster? Must be high.

In a New Yorker article, David Owen describes how dark skies are increasingly difficult to find. He states that most Americans are unable to see the Milky Way where they live. Obviously, the stars have not become dimmer, but excess light increasingly prevents us from seing the entire beauty of the skies at night.
According to Bortle’s Dark-Sky Scale, invented by John E. Bortle in 2001, nighttime skies rated 1 are as dark as in Galileo’s time. At the other end of the scale is New York with a dark-sky rating of 9.
But there are several ways of avoiding, or at least minimizing, the light pollution from urbanized areas. Naturally, improved street lights are a big factor in reducing the excess light. Not only through retrofitting the luminaires and bulbs, but also by controlling that the lights are turned off and posibly dimmed at the most optimal times. For more information on centralized control and dimming, see e.g. www.amplex.dk or www.streetlight-vision.com.
To read an abstract of the New Yorker-article, click here…

The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), being very active in preserving or restoring the dark skies by eliminating light pollution, has recently introduced an ordinance for small communities, urban neighborhoods and subdivisions. The ordinance describes how outdoor night light can be effective and reasonable without polluting the surroundings with excess light.
The purpose of IDA is to minimize the effects of light pollution, including energy waste, harm to ecosystems, poor nightime ambience, reduced visibility at night and  to educate everyone about the values of quality outdoor lighting.
Read the ordinance here…