Book Description

The use of light emitting diode (LED) roadway lighting is growing throughout New York State and the rest of the country, because of the potential for longer effective life and reduced energy compared to high pressure sodium (HPS) lighting systems. While the technological feasibility of LED roadway lighting systems has been established, the impacts of LEDs on the economics of roadway lighting are situationally dependent. In many municipalities, roadway lighting is owned and maintained by the local electric utility. Entities such as the New York State Comptroller’s Office have advocated for municipalities to purchase their roadway lighting systems from the utility, and economic analyses suggest a substantial cost savings can be achieved in this way. Utility-owned roadway lighting is still attractive, however, for many municipalities who are not prepared to purchase and maintain their lighting network. In the present project, LED luminaires were installed along a major arterial roadway by the local utility. The LED lighting was selected to improve the visual conditions while using less energy. Over 30% energy savings were realized, although utility costs were not reduced by the same amount. Subjective evaluations of the previous HPS and each type of LED revealed that the LED lighting was judged to be an improvement over the HPS lighting conditions.