Lighting of all types seems to benefit from the smart application of LED technology. Sure LEDs still cost more they last a crazy long time and use a lot less energy.

What can be done to speed this technology along?

Now Philips is doing street lamps:

Philips has put up the first streetlamps that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which last four times longer than normal street lighting, the Dutch electronics group said on Friday. With 50,000 light hours, LED lamps do not have to be changed for 12 years when lit for an average 11 to 12 hours a day.
Because LEDs are made of solid organic materials, they are smaller, more versatile and less vulnerable than today's glass lamps filled with gases, Philips said.
"The lifespan of a streetlamp is no longer limited by the lamp, but by the pole," a Philips spokeswoman said.

This will be one of those quaint remembrances for today's children. "In my day light sockets had Thomas Edison light-bulbs in them and we liked it that way!"
Philips does long lasting streetlights

Technorati Tags: LED, lightbulbs, Philips, streetlight, Thomas Edison

Comments

[Pat]

LED technology has now met the efficacy threshold and they will be found in far more places. LED Streetlights are a great start in order to darken the night skys. Wouldn't it be great to see the stars again like when we were kids! LEDs are sharp cutoff and they send light only where wanted, not into the sky.

These will require more buy-in by the agencies and utilities. Many are stuck in what I call a lumen legacy, where they think lumens somehow equate to brightness on the ground. (You probably know that a typical bulb-type streetlight is only about 60% efficient, while the LED counterpart is 85 - 90% efficient.)

If we can have 0.4 footcandles of WHITE light on the ground, we might think it was beautiful. There are some great references here http://www.patmullins.com/newlook.html which if adhered to, really can change the way we see at night.

Pat

[Basil Brown]

Does anyone have a link to any pictures of LED streetlights in operation?

Sodium streetlighting is an abomination which further detaches our precarious civilisation from appreciating [and by extension, being conscious of and caring for] the natural world. Lighting levels need to come down and white light's certainly the way forward.

The trouble is, I reckon politicians use high artificial lighting levels in order to persuade their electorates of a responsiveness to Fear Of Crime. That various researches have now shown bright outdoor lighting to actually increase rates of anti-social and criminal behaviour, will not persuade those whose livelihoods depend upon appeasing commonly-held perceptions. It is always easier and more expedient to reinforce a prejudice than it is to educate.

http://www.asv.org.au/odlighting/

Visit my pages for night-time images of the various types of streetlighting currently used in the UK.

http://thestreetlights.blogspot.com/