LED Lighting

[on_wisconsin]

There are also some on WIS 30 near the E. Wash exit as well. I also believe Oregon and Sun Prairie have some LED lights in the downtown areas of those cities.

[architect77]

What do you think of this beauty? NC's first Toll Road: The Triangle Expressway

[sp_redelectric]

City of Portland has installed the LED lighting on Harbor Drive (the roadway that connects Naito Parkway, Clay and Market Streets with I-5 south).

[mgk920]

The City of Appleton, WI is starting to install LED streetlights in quantity, right now mostly in the downtown area.  I don't know their manufacturer or the name of their design style, but each fixture has a very sleek look and uses two rectangular 'pixel' arrays lined up the long way.  This was started after several different styles were installed at various major intersections in the city a couple of years ago.

Mike

[roadfro]

Nevada DOT is starting to replace cobrahead lighting fixtures along its I-80 freeway ramps with LED street light fixtures. Noticed some in Fernley and a few more recently in the Reno area.

NDOT has also replaced some under-bridge lighting with LED fixtures, especially along US 395 in Reno where they recently widened bridges as part of the widening of NB 395. It looks really good and it's extremely bright under those bridges.

[US12]

They just put up leds on some 50 year old light in front of my house. Better visibility but the light shines in my window at night.

[SSOWorld]

I noticed the LED lighting popping up all over LA recently (The 210 interchange in Sylmar got them this summer) - (they've also started installing them in the surrounding area (including Santa Clarita - especially at freeway exits).

Platteville, WI put in LED streetlights on Water Street and Madison street so far, and the Beltline Manona Viaduct in the Madison area along with portions of East Washington Street by the East Towne Mall have LED lamps installed as well.

[DaBigE]

Most reconstruction projects in Madison include LED lighting...University Ave west of Hill Farms, Northport Dr (Wis 113), Williamson St to name a few. They also have switched many areas around the Capitol, as well as University Ave roughly between Frances St and Park St.

[NJRoadfan]

They apparently make a big lighting difference. Here's the 6th Street Bridge, before and after:



So the light is much more white than yellow. And, being LEDs, they should be both brighter and far more energy efficient, saving a lot of money in the long run. All in all, I think it's a positive change.

The white balance and exposure of the camera is different between the photos. Nice way to "enhance" a before/after shot.

I've forgotten where I saw it (possibly in one of the NJ towns), but there was an LED signal where the arrow changed colors in place. In other words a standard 3 stack with the green arrow below, and the arrow at the bottom changed from green to yellow without changing position, where you would expect a doghouse configuration to achieve that.   Would have thought this would be a no-no due to possible color-blindness issues.

(I realize this is two years old)

NJDOT and many local DPWs install 4 head signals with bi-LED (originally fiber optic in the pre-LED days I think) protected left arrows instead of 5 head doghouse signals. This has been the case for at least 15 years in the state and new installs continue to this day despite anything that may prohibit them in the MUTCD. They never seem to have been an issue for drivers. I'd say that doghouse signals are the exception rather than the norm around here, they certainly aren't common.

[KEK Inc.]

I've noticed that.  LED lights are actually dimmer than HPS lights from what I've seen, yet every photograph shows the opposite.  I think LED lights are more camera friendly, yet since sodium emits two dominant wavelengths (colors) of light, so it may be a bit easier to see objects and depth with the human eye.

The thing is, LEDs can be as effective as HPS if done right (multiple colors of white and yellow instead of just white with a convexed lens to diffract the directional light)...

[myosh_tino]

I've noticed that.  LED lights are actually dimmer than HPS lights from what I've seen, yet every photograph shows the opposite.  I think LED lights are more camera friendly, yet since sodium emits two dominant wavelengths (colors) of light, so it may be a bit easier to see objects and depth with the human eye.

The thing is, LEDs can be as effective as HPS if done right (multiple colors of white and yellow instead of just white with a convexed lens to diffract the directional light)...

I agree with KEK that LED street lights appear dimmer than HPS street lights.  My hometown converted most of the residential street lights to LEDs earlier this year and they do appear dimmer.

[Henry]

There's been talk of converting the streetlights in Chicago to LED's as well, but that would most likely mean the removal of the Crimefighter lights that made the city famous for many years. More of a wait-and-see situation...

[KEK Inc.]

I've noticed that.  LED lights are actually dimmer than HPS lights from what I've seen, yet every photograph shows the opposite.  I think LED lights are more camera friendly, yet since sodium emits two dominant wavelengths (colors) of light, so it may be a bit easier to see objects and depth with the human eye.

The thing is, LEDs can be as effective as HPS if done right (multiple colors of white and yellow instead of just white with a convexed lens to diffract the directional light)...

I agree with KEK that LED street lights appear dimmer than HPS street lights.  My hometown converted most of the residential street lights to LEDs earlier this year and they do appear dimmer.

But it's green, so it has to be better and brighter. 

[seicer]

Dimmer lights are not always worse. Some cities - and highways, were overlit. The whole belief that lighting up the night would reduce crime has been debunked in most planning circles.

Back to the original topic, I've noticed West Virginia's DOH installing new gantries across the state - or retrofitting old gantries, with LED lights to illuminate the signs. The signs are much brighter than ever and much more reliable. In some cities, like Charleston, interstate lighting has started to be replaced with LED fixtures, which tend to be less bright but much more efficient and pleasing to drive under. I've also noted the first high-mast light using LED lighting at Milton on I-64 at MM 28 - which casts a soft white glow on the interchange.

[myosh_tino]

Speaking of street lights, Caltrans has a big problem right now keeping street lights lit.  While a tiny percentage of the outages are due to lack of maintenance, the rest are due to copper thieves stealing the wiring at night.  The I-280/CA-85 interchange has been dark for the better part of a year because copper thieves stole the wiring.

I know this is a problem in California, how about elsewhere in the U.S.?

[Big John]

^^ When i was near Atlanta, much of the freeway lighting they did have was dark because of it.  Also since thieves stole the base coverings, the city or statge put on plastic covers in their stead and had the fact they are plastic embossed on them.

[roadfro]

Speaking of street lights, Caltrans has a big problem right now keeping street lights lit.  While a tiny percentage of the outages are due to lack of maintenance, the rest are due to copper thieves stealing the wiring at night.  The I-280/CA-85 interchange has been dark for the better part of a year because copper thieves stole the wiring.

I know this is a problem in California, how about elsewhere in the U.S.?

This was also a problem in the Vegas area for a bit. IIRC, a considerable section of the I-515/US 93/US 95 street lights were dark for a while because of this a few years ago.

[getemngo]

Been seeing a lot more of these in Michigan. I-94 has some in the Detroit area, but all of them within Detroit city limits, at least east of I-96, were dark as of a couple months ago. (Seriously.) There's also a few miles of US 131 south of Grand Rapids with LEDs.

Here's a thought. I personally prefer blue/white streetlights to yellow/orange ones, but redder colors tend to make it easier for the eyes to readjust to darkness (look up the Purkinje Effect if curious). Do you think we'll start seeing LED streetlights with orange bulbs or orange covers?

[DaBigE]

Been seeing a lot more of these in Michigan. I-94 has some in the Detroit area, but all of them within Detroit city limits, at least east of I-96, were dark as of a couple months ago. (Seriously.) There's also a few miles of US 131 south of Grand Rapids with LEDs.

Here's a thought. I personally prefer blue/white streetlights to yellow/orange ones, but redder colors tend to make it easier for the eyes to readjust to darkness (look up the Purkinje Effect if curious). Do you think we'll start seeing LED streetlights with orange bulbs or orange covers?

I doubt we will and I personally hope it never happens. One of the other selling points of LED street lights is the natural colored light...police like them because it helps give more accurate descriptions of perps and/or their get-away vehicles. Reverting back to peach/orange would be a big step backwards IMHO.

I remember seeing a comparison (maybe elsewhere on this site?) of a Ford Mustang parked under a HPS light and a LED fixture. The Mustang looked like it was orange under the HPS, but was red under the LED.

[Henry]

^^ When i was near Atlanta, much of the freeway lighting they did have was dark because of it.  Also since thieves stole the base coverings, the city or statge put on plastic covers in their stead and had the fact they are plastic embossed on them.

A friend in Charlotte noticed the exact same thing. An interesting fact is that somehow a stetch of I-85 has now gone retro, with lights that were last produced in 1985, of all things! I wonder where they came from, possibly a storage bin somewhere?

[hm insulators]

Speaking of street lights, Caltrans has a big problem right now keeping street lights lit.  While a tiny percentage of the outages are due to lack of maintenance, the rest are due to copper thieves stealing the wiring at night.  The I-280/CA-85 interchange has been dark for the better part of a year because copper thieves stole the wiring.

I know this is a problem in California, how about elsewhere in the U.S.?

Arizona, too. Entire stretches of freeway in Phoenix are dark because of the copper thieves. They don't seem to realize that fooling around with live high-voltage can easily kill them! I know what high-voltage electricity can do to the human body; years ago, I knew a young man who had 12,000 volts go through his body when he was a kid. He suffered 3rd-degree burns over 80% of his body. As far as I know, he's still alive, but he's basically one gigantic burn scar.