Wrap Up
I’m hoping to crank out a story for Friday on the whole LED lighting bit. I know what OG&E, public works and the hired design consultants are saying. There were a couple of folks not so sure of the veracity of what was being reported by OG&E – that these lights are 10 times more expensive, not proven as street lights… so I’ll see if there is anything out there that indicates otherwise.
Everytime I leave one of these meetings, I’m a bit overwelmed by how big it all is. It’s difficult not to admire the folks trying to pull this off.
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Comments
LED fixtures have fine photometrics, and the lamp elements do last much longer than other types of lamps; however they (LEDs) each require a transformer that has a shorter life-span than the lamp! You will find many good examples of wonderful LED street lighting and a healthy growth in their future use. They offer some excellent products that would look awesome in OKC… But! Currently there is a limited selection, compared to the established technologies, so why should we be limited to only select from a few LED products just because they’re new and “cool?” (There are many newer & cooler products on the horizon… should we wait for them? Wait till you see the OLEDs!)
The selection should first be based on desired photometrics and functional requirements (yes, cost is in the equation), THEN style & technology…
The city of Ann Arbor Michigan went to 100% LED for it’s downtown street lights about a year ago. The city expects a 3.8 year payback on it’s investment (retrofitting existing fixutres) due to energy savings and having to replace the bulbs every 10 years versus 2 for sodium lamps.
I believe Anchorage has a similar program and lots of other cities are in the planning/testing phase.