What type of street lights do you prefer? I grew up in California and Washington, so I prefer the cutoff American Electric Lighting 325 cobrahead series.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acuitybrandslighting.com%2Flibrary%2Fael%2Fimages%2Ffamily%2Froadway%2520series%2520325%2520cutoff_med.jpg&hash=60a171daa8b5147fefe9c3f9d7cb9d3caf577054)
The AEL-325 (shown above) is pretty common nowadays as well as the Hubbell-RMC(shown below).
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lighting-gallery.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10259%2Fnormal_IMG_5397.JPG&hash=a2fffd64682f9c4ed4d85c9c9769e0e8e2c7e1a2)
Interestingly enough for the interest of observatories, certain cities including San Jose, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Campbell, San Diego, Escondinido, Carlsbad, Hilo, HI, and Springfield, OR, utilize sodium vapor lamps to attempt to reduce light pollution. I've seen some in the wild in the Portland, OR, post office.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acuitybrandslighting.com%2Flibrary%2Fael%2Fimages%2Ffamily%2Froadway-area-sp2_med.jpg&hash=a01b8b0ff09f9bf5db95a582b6ae86010decf45b)
AEL-SP2
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acuitybrandslighting.com%2Flibrary%2Fael%2Fimages%2Ffamily%2Froadway-area-srx_med.jpg&hash=1cf321fef27fbe420945992f423ce46fc3b7a1c3)
AEL-SRX
Growing up in Nevada, the Cobrahead series is used almost everywhere, in both standard and cutoff versions. Cutoffs are used almost exclusively on traffic signal pole luminaries, except in Reno where they've been retrofitted with LED fixtures for a cost-saving measure.
Cobraheads are pretty much the standard lighting for the entire country. Recently, LED lighting from a Chinese company have been used in California. I noticed some LED streetlighting on CA-85 and all of the weigh stations in the Bay Area seem to be using them. The Sodium Vapor lamps are really only used in areas that require lower light pollution. I know in some other countries in Central and South America use them too.
Cutoffs are pretty much used all the time in California and Washington. Frankly, I think they look better. The domes look awful, and they really don't add much light to the road in my opinion. They're more useful I suppose as a beacon in flat rural areas, but that's about it. I think it's not really necessary in urban areas. I did notice that it's rare for Nevada to have the standard domes on traffic poles. I think newer streetlamps in many states use cutoffs, though. I noticed that Oregon is using cutoffs for many of the newer streetlights.
The domes seem to emit more radiant light up from the street as compared to the cutoffs, which focus the light more downward. Domes are fairly standard in urban Nevada, with cutoffs really only used in places where there is a desire to cut down on light pollution--rural areas, and sometimes on major arterials so that not as much light bleeds into the adjacent neighborhoods. I have seen in some newer areas that the cutoffs seem to be used a bit more.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 01, 2011, 07:55:55 PM
Interestingly enough for the interest of observatories, certain cities including San Jose, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Campbell, San Diego, Escondinido, Carlsbad, Hilo, HI, and Springfield, OR, utilize sodium vapor lamps to attempt to reduce light pollution. I've seen some in the wild in the Portland, OR, post office.
Sodium Vapor lamps are slowly being fazed out in a number of cities in Santa Clara County including San Jose. They are being replaced with energy efficient LED street lights. Caltrans is also experimenting with the LED streetlights at the 880-101 interchange in San Jose and the 280-85 interchange in Cupertino.
The new LED lamps produce a whiter light and doesn't distort colors (of cars, clothing, etc) like the older sodium vapor lamps. The Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton, which pushed for sodium vapor as a means of reducing light pollution, has reportedly OK'd the use of the LED lamps.
Quote from: myosh_tino on August 01, 2011, 09:38:57 PM
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 01, 2011, 07:55:55 PM
Interestingly enough for the interest of observatories, certain cities including San Jose, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Campbell, San Diego, Escondinido, Carlsbad, Hilo, HI, and Springfield, OR, utilize sodium vapor lamps to attempt to reduce light pollution. I've seen some in the wild in the Portland, OR, post office.
Sodium Vapor lamps are slowly being fazed out in a number of cities in Santa Clara County including San Jose. They are being replaced with energy efficient LED street lights. Caltrans is also experimenting with the LED streetlights at the 880-101 interchange in San Jose and the 280-85 interchange in Cupertino.
The new LED lamps produce a whiter light and doesn't distort colors (of cars, clothing, etc) like the older sodium vapor lamps. The Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton, which pushed for sodium vapor as a means of reducing light pollution, has reportedly OK'd the use of the LED lamps.
I am personally used to the amber glow of cities over the white light. I also prefer the design of the AEL streetlamps over the Chinese brand (I forgot the exact name of the company). I know Hubbell has LED versions of the mainstream RCL models that they use, but I haven't seen them in the wild yet.
I used to love the old, square florescent lights that would line a city street.
One of the last remaining sections that I could remember used to straddle about a half-mile section of OH-120/Central Avenue in Toledo between Jackman & Monroe Avenues, near Toledo Hospital. I believe they survived into the early 90s.
I believe the only drawbacks to those oldies was that the florescent lights had to be placed closer together to equal the coverage areas of the cobra heads, and the cost to operate them & to replace the tubes was much more than their modern-day predecessors.
But I gotta say, it was an awesome display to cruise through at the time.
Do you have any pictures of them? Are you sure they're not sodium vapor lamps?
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.san-jose-pedestrians.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F09%2F02134-monterey-cottage-grov.jpg&hash=ab0e7055af3dffc9683059ece0f3839b72cc6502)
There are some relic sodium vapor lamps existing in Hanford, WA, probably circa the 70s or 80s.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hanford,+wa&ll=46.479955,-119.392548&spn=0,0.937958&gl=us&t=h&z=11&layer=c&cbll=46.480211,-119.392575&panoid=5raGZpYgDVojEGLsSv7YjA&cbp=12,214.18,,0,-12.15
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 02, 2011, 02:33:13 AM
Do you have any pictures of them? Are you sure they're not sodium vapor lamps?
Positive. The closest example I could find on the fly was this youtube demo:
.
It was pretty much the same concept as the lighted, overhead street blades you see in some city intersections. Except I believe the street lamps used larger flourescent lights and were housed in a larger casing.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 01, 2011, 10:41:22 PM
I am personally used to the amber glow of cities over the white light. ...
Do you know what type of bulbs are used in cobrahead fixtures to produce the amber light glow versus the whitish lights? I know of sodium vapor and mercury vapor lamps (and maybe one other), but have never known which produced what color of light.
Quote from: roadfro on August 02, 2011, 04:41:22 PM
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 01, 2011, 10:41:22 PM
I am personally used to the amber glow of cities over the white light. ...
Do you know what type of bulbs are used in cobrahead fixtures to produce the amber light glow versus the whitish lights? I know of sodium vapor and mercury vapor lamps (and maybe one other), but have never known which produced what color of light.
If memory serves me right, sodium vapor produces an orange light while mercury vapor produces a whiter light (a quick look on wikipedia confirms this).
While San Jose's sodium vapor lamps looks very much like the ones in the last photo KEK posted, other cities like Cupertino retrofitted their cobrahead lamps with sodium vapor bulbs. These same lamps have been retrofitted again with LED bulbs.
I always loved mercury vapor lamps, but I haven't seen one lit up at night in years. They're utterly extinct around here.
Then, a couple weeks ago, I spotted this in Morning Sun, Ohio:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg812.imageshack.us%2Fimg812%2F2091%2Fimg2675web.jpg&hash=d4845eec391849a7b3e9ed7174a64de8742a4aa9)
It's not often I slam my brakes to get a picture of something... for this, I did. I didn't see it at night so I can't say what sort of lamp was actually in there, but the fixture has the distinct look of an old MV fixture.
I like the cool blue of mercury vapor, it just fits with the night. The orange of high pressure sodium, meanwhile, is hideous - it clashes with the night. Newer metal halide fixtures (which are white) solve this problem, but still don't look as good as mercury vapor.
Of course, as time goes on, the orange HPS fixtures will go the way of the dodo as well. LED lights are generally white (though they can be made in any color), and eHID technology is also white.
They still make them.
http://www.americanelectriclighting.com/Products/SubCategory.asp?Brand=AEL&ProductType=American%20Electric%20Lighting&Category=Security%20Lighting
Not sure if it's still MV.
http://www.acuitybrandslighting.com/library/ael/documents/specsheets/SL-11-C.pdf
Quote from: roadfro on August 02, 2011, 04:41:22 PM
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 01, 2011, 10:41:22 PM
Do you know what type of bulbs are used in cobrahead fixtures to produce the amber light glow versus the whitish lights? I know of sodium vapor and mercury vapor lamps (and maybe one other), but have never known which produced what color of light.
Mercury vapor lamps produce the bluish-white light. They were nearly universal on streets in the '60s and '70s, but are almost extinct now (I see them on private property from time to time).
There are two kinds of sodium vapor lamps--high pressure sodium is by far the most common kind, with the really bright greenish-orangish-yellow light that I've always hated (the old mercury vapor lamps at least somewhat resembled moonlight), and low-pressure sodium used in a few cities such as San Diego, San Jose and Tucson, where they generate less light pollution for astronomical observatories such as Kitt Peak and Mt. Palomar.
As an astronomy fan, I welcome any reduction in light pollution. Even more important, newer cut-off fixtures direct the light downward where it's needed, instead of spilling uselessly up into the sky. (Why do we need to light the bellies of airplanes and owls?) As a result, smaller, low-wattage bulbs can be used in the fixtures, which reduces power consumption and saves lots of money in the long run. (That's the important thing--the
money that is saved in this day and age when the economy is still in the toilet.)
there is a town on US-95 in Idaho (I believe between Weiser and the 95/55 junction) that had unphosphorized* mercury lighting (the blue glow) as late as 2006.
*the housings of mercury lights were coated with phosphorus, which absorbed the blue light and emitted red, thereby balancing the color more towards white. usually the way to tell a phosphorized mercury light is from the air: the tops of the housings were open to the air, so the raw blue light went skyward.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 02, 2011, 02:33:13 AM
Do you have any pictures of them? Are you sure they're not sodium vapor lamps?
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.san-jose-pedestrians.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F09%2F02134-monterey-cottage-grov.jpg&hash=ab0e7055af3dffc9683059ece0f3839b72cc6502)
The Mass Pike I-90 used to have this type of lighting, with the long bulbs, but they were yellow! As late as 1998 they were still there.
Also:
I like the old round type of bulb holders, like the first light on the left in this photo. The CT Turnpike had yons of these back in the early 80s.
www.aaroads.com/shields/show.php?image=NY19587901
When I went to Boston three years ago, I saw some on the Mass Pike in downtown.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=boston&hl=en&ll=42.347826,-71.070194&spn=0.004631,0.014656&gl=us&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=42.347826,-71.070194&panoid=e9zJHSKGDcNIYx3g6uI7xQ&cbp=12,292.16,,0,-2.83
They're still up on Google Maps.
All of the long sodium-vapor lights emit red light when fired up and then turn yellow after about 5 minutes.
I'm not sure what that exact model number is. I'm pretty sure it's AEL. Possibly SP1, but I don't know for sure. I know it's phased out of production, since I haven't seen a new one anywhere really. San Jose has used sodium vapor since the 60s, and it's apparent that the newer lights are SP2 for mainline roads. Residential roads use the SRX, even to this day. I haven't seen the ones that are used in the Mass Pike in roads newer than 1995.
I remembered when I was kid, Lexington KY used to have THIS type of streetlights in some areas:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eskimo.com%2F%7Ejrterry%2Fgraphics%2Fwilmette1.jpeg&hash=e99be94fb94c83683f7d2caff82d9ba2cb7eb404)
I tried to find one on Google Street View, but I think all of them has been replaced with regular Cobrahead streetlights.
this one still exists (at least last time I was through there) on US82 just east of Centreville, AL. Just west of there, on the edge of the town, they have normal, modern streetlamps.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Centreville,+AL&hl=en&ll=32.940259,-87.127762&spn=0.069151,0.110378&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.435463,56.513672&t=h&z=13&layer=c&cbll=32.940166,-87.128058&panoid=3qI59iuuQrB_VFUnuPALlQ&cbp=12,252.92,,0,-3.64
Quote from: Duke87 on August 02, 2011, 08:08:01 PM
I always loved mercury vapor lamps, but I haven't seen one lit up at night in years. They're utterly extinct around here.
Then, a couple weeks ago, I spotted this in Morning Sun, Ohio:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg812.imageshack.us%2Fimg812%2F2091%2Fimg2675web.jpg&hash=d4845eec391849a7b3e9ed7174a64de8742a4aa9)
It's not often I slam my brakes to get a picture of something... for this, I did. I didn't see it at night so I can't say what sort of lamp was actually in there, but the fixture has the distinct look of an old MV fixture.
I like the cool blue of mercury vapor, it just fits with the night. The orange of high pressure sodium, meanwhile, is hideous - it clashes with the night. Newer metal halide fixtures (which are white) solve this problem, but still don't look as good as mercury vapor.
Of course, as time goes on, the orange HPS fixtures will go the way of the dodo as well. LED lights are generally white (though they can be made in any color), and eHID technology is also white.
There are many of these still around in Nebraska, particularly in small towns. I remember when Lincoln had these on side streets, but the city switched completely to sodium vapor lights on all streets about 20-25 years ago. In Lincoln, we have the cutoff style on major streets, and the dome style on side streets.
Quote from: WolfGuy100 on August 05, 2011, 12:26:14 AM
I remembered when I was kid, Lexington KY used to have THIS type of streetlights in some areas:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eskimo.com%2F%7Ejrterry%2Fgraphics%2Fwilmette1.jpeg&hash=e99be94fb94c83683f7d2caff82d9ba2cb7eb404)
I tried to find one on Google Street View, but I think all of them has been replaced with regular Cobrahead streetlights.
There used to be plenty in LA, but I'm pretty sure most are phased out with LED lighting now. I know there's a couple of areas in Portland and some rural towns that still use them. They're old.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=albany,+or&ll=44.64643,-123.062325&spn=0.141426,0.338173&gl=us&z=12&layer=c&cbll=44.646877,-123.062585&panoid=vWRRsNIUAMqi4mBtWTscog&cbp=12,208.87,,0,-14.16
Here's an oldie on an Interstate in Oregon!
What color range does the LED streetlight put out? Cool white, natural white or a warm white?
^ The LED streetlights they're using to retrofit luminaries at signalized intersections in Reno—Sparks seem to be more of a cool white – a stark contrast to the high pressure sodium bulbs that were in use, so that has taken some getting used to.
They have a cool glow.
Here's a comparison of the more yellow-hued cobraheads vs. the LED streetlights on the 6th St. Viaduct in LA.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.cnet.com%2Fi%2Fbto%2F20091104%2FLED_6thStBridgeHPS_40_610x435.JPG&hash=f6994ec83265af2f180c6a4b7aa7204f82d8af50)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earthyreport.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F11%2FLED_6thStBridgeLED2_40_610x436.JPG-300x214.jpg&hash=8e3631b5041fee7e1f870b276a2c533548054ab7)
The whitish LEDs used in Reno/Sparks aren't quite that bright and they have a bluer tint, which results in intersections that don't look quite as well lit at night.
NDOT has been doing some retrofits in the Reno area, changing out sodium vapor lighting underneath bridges with LED fixtures that are really bright.
Quote from: WolfGuy100 on August 05, 2011, 12:26:14 AM
I remembered when I was kid, Lexington KY used to have THIS type of streetlights in some areas:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eskimo.com%2F%7Ejrterry%2Fgraphics%2Fwilmette1.jpeg&hash=e99be94fb94c83683f7d2caff82d9ba2cb7eb404)
I tried to find one on Google Street View, but I think all of them has been replaced with regular Cobrahead streetlights.
I think then some streets in downtown Toronto still have them.
I saw something very similar but not identical in New Jersey a few years ago. Click on the picture to enlarge.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sabre-roads.org.uk%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10163%2Fthumb_topent2.jpg&hash=0425c1ffa33d03b70324a9a775acaaddbbbad3f6) (http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10163/topent2.jpg)
(I-78 express lanes, eastbound at Exit 58)
Reviving this topic, in regards to where mercury vapors, Lower Merion Township in Pennsylvania, which is where I reside, used to have a ton of mercury vapor streetlights, but around the time the government banned mercury vapor lights, Lower Merion replaced all of its mercury vapor lights with metal halides. What's cool is, the street I live on uses HPS lights while all the surrounding streets use formerly MV, now MH lights.
Nearly every street in Chicago had a unique luminaire called Crimefighters, with a bucket-shaped refractor attached to a full-cutoff body. (I think GE was the only manufacturer of these unique lights, and they were only available in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, but I'm not 100% sure of it.) They were available in 150, 250 and 310-watt varieties, and of course HPS, but now they're being replaced by normal-looking HPS semicutoffs and LEDs as well.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lighting-gallery.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10030%2Fnormal_pic0045.jpg&hash=8b4699a87b1a4772d3413f7c5a27c171d5f1f4a3)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lighting-gallery.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10246%2Fnormal_replacement-1.jpg&hash=11529f809444d36b5a054c7be49c069d0608412f)
If you opened one and looked underneath, you could see that the bulb was mounted vertically instead of horizontally, which was the coolest feature!
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lighting-gallery.net%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10275%2Fnormal_IMG_1123.JPG&hash=f34cd5f49381cc53de8d6f48d802b068e8ff5fbc)
Quote from: jcn on December 17, 2017, 02:59:31 AM
Reviving this topic, in regards to where mercury vapors, Lower Merion Township in Pennsylvania, which is where I reside, used to have a ton of mercury vapor streetlights, but around the time the government banned mercury vapor lights, Lower Merion replaced all of its mercury vapor lights with metal halides. What's cool is, the street I live on uses HPS lights while all the surrounding streets use formerly MV, now MH lights.
For reasons not clear to me, most streetlights mounted on wood poles in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (south of Baltimore) are still mercury vapor. Not sure if the county has asked the utility company to keep them that way (sometimes, a new and lonely HPS luminaire is found on a street among the mercury vapor lights).
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 29, 2017, 06:41:29 PM
Quote from: jcn on December 17, 2017, 02:59:31 AM
Reviving this topic, in regards to where mercury vapors, Lower Merion Township in Pennsylvania, which is where I reside, used to have a ton of mercury vapor streetlights, but around the time the government banned mercury vapor lights, Lower Merion replaced all of its mercury vapor lights with metal halides. What's cool is, the street I live on uses HPS lights while all the surrounding streets use formerly MV, now MH lights.
For reasons not clear to me, most streetlights mounted on wood poles in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (south of Baltimore) are still mercury vapor. Not sure if the county has asked the utility company to keep them that way (sometimes, a new and lonely HPS luminaire is found on a street among the mercury vapor lights).
Radnor Township, which is to the west of Lower Merion, still has mercury vapor lights as well with some HPS lights mixed in. Not to mention, Narberth, a borough completely surrounded by Lower Merion township not only still has MV lights but even incandescent lighting as well.