The Municipal Benefits of LED Street Lighting
Benefits of LED Municipal Street Lighting
In more and more municipalities, LED lighting is becoming the solution of choice. There are many reasons for that, and this article covers several of the most prominent ones, including quicker startup times, their ability to reduce maintenance costs, and energy efficiency. They also deliver better color rendering.
Quicker Startup Times
Compared to other lighting systems, like those based on incandescent lamps, LED lights offer quicker startup times. In fact, LED lights can turn on virtually instantly. That makes them more suitable for applications in which precise control of when lights go on and off is necessary; for instance, decorative lighting poles with specific on/off programming schedules are an example of where LEDs shine.
Longer-Lasting Bulbs
LED lights last longer than other lighting solutions. Given the staggering number of street lights cities can contain—for instance, Los Angeles has more than 200,000—any cost savings can quickly add up. Because the bulbs in municipal LED street lighting need to be replaced less frequently, cities save money in multiple ways: They don’t need to buy bulbs as often, and they also don’t need to dedicate personnel, vehicles, and other resources to going about and replacing bulbs as frequently.
Energy Efficiency
LED bulbs are more efficient than their incandescent and fluorescent counterparts, which emit the vast majority of their energy as heat. Additionally, because LED lights are directional, they can be “aimed” where their light needs to go, reducing bleed-off and wastage. Combine the lower energy expenditures with the aforementioned savings in the areas of labor and replacement bulbs, and the potential savings for cities quickly add up.
More Accurate Color Rendering
Color rendering refers to how closely objects under an artificial light source resemble how they look under natural light. A bulb with poor color rendering, for instance, may illuminate items in a way that looks muddled to the human eye. That is not a problem with LED lights, however, which deliver high-quality color rendering.
Discover More About Outdoor LED Lighting Projects
To learn more about a variety of lighting topics, including Caltrans LED lighting in California, just contact Great Basin Lighting. The same goes if you’re considering launching a new lighting endeavor. We have experience with many types of lighting projects and would love to talk! Contact us here.