LED stands for lighting emitting diode. LEDs are used in a lot of electronic products which includes the main topic I will be talking about today, street lighting. Street lighting technology has made use of LEDs since the 1960s. Prior to that the semi-conducting light source was used almost exclusively for products such as lamp indicators in electronic equipment. In recent years LED technology had increased significantly and the efficiency of this type of light emitter is far superior to the older semi conductor light source. As a result LED technology is now becoming common with new street lighting systems.
LEDs have excellent color quality and are very, very reliable. As the technology has improved, the cost of the LED bulbs has reduced year by year until a point was reached recently where using LEDs above all other light sources within street lighting has become economically viable.
The main advantage of using LEDs is they have a very low watt percentage which obviously makes them very efficient. The cost of running lighting that uses LEDs instead of traditional bulb lighting is much cheaper.
As I said before, LED lighting is preferable because of their excellent color clarity and reliability and efficiency. Previously LED lighting has been used for marking landmarks and for decorative purposes. The amount of light omitted was generally not enough to make them suitable for street lighting. However as technology has improved it is now possible to set up LED lighting systems in a way that they emit a significant amount of light and so have become good at illuminating things and not just acting as visual markers. These consist of being used for external lighting but now they are considered good enough to light our streets.
A Slow Start For LED Street Lighting
At first though, LEDs were only considered good enough for use in small streets such as cul-de-sacs. This was because they did not illuminate an area adequately to enable them to be used alongside main roads, for example. But now with advanced LED technology the illuminating power that they have is huge.
Local authorities have, in recent years, adapted their policies so all new street lamps have LEDs in them. This is because they are so much more efficient and so much cheaper to run. The majority of big companies have included LEDs in their range of internal lights. Lighting designers and other lighting service providers have begun to focus heavily of LED lighting design.
A Summary Of The Advantages OF LEDs In Street Lighting
There are many reasons for selecting LED lamps, these include:
Low lamp wattage
Reduced energy / running costs
Increase lamp life expectancy
Reduced maintenance rule
Fewer lamp changes
Increased color temperatures (white light source gives excellent color recognition)
LEDs are also great for reducing global warming as they save up to 80% more energy than the old lights (incandescent). A good quality LED product promises great performance and a lifetime output. LED lights can have a lifetime of 25 years, minimum, for high quality LEDs which means local authorities using them will have to change fewer lamps over that period of time.
LEDs are just so efficient. For example the money you would use to pay for the lights would be regained within about 18 months due to the reduced cost of running the lights. You can see now why LED lighting is revolutionizing street lighting around the world.
