Summary

LED Street Lighting

Street Lighting : LED vs. Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium

Lighting fixtures for residential, rural, and city streets that employ light-emitting diode (LED) technology to deliver better light quality and use less energy.

Synopsis:

Street light luminaires employing LED technology are available from a number of manufacturers. The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) is encouraging increased market penetration of the technology and is providing resources so that objective, up-to-date information about the technology is available. The fixtures are designed to utilize LED technology and provide thermal management and controllability; they are not currently considered as retrofit lamps for existing luminaires.

Energy savings over traditional street lighting systems may be significant – 30% to 75% – depending on the original light levels, technology and controls. The USDOE expects this technology to save significant energy nationwide while improving the quality of roadway lighting. Lamp life could be significantly longer than incumbent systems, making LED technology especially useful in hard-to-access locations. The use of self-cleaning glass or coatings on these fixtures could reduce the need for cleaning, which supports manufacturers’ claims of reduced maintenance. Light from LEDs is available in a range of color temperatures. Light distribution is superior to that of other technologies, allowing for lower light levels while still providing high visibility.

Roadway lighting must be effective in a broad range of locations, from low-traffic residential neighborhoods and rural roads to interstate freeway interchanges, each application with its own unique requirements for acceptable light levels and distribution patterns. As no single product (including LEDs) serves all needs, careful study is needed when considering their use in a specific project.

Retrofit kits for existing luminaires are also available. Well-designed retrofit kits can deliver the same benefits of integral luminaires.

Energy Savings: 50%

Energy Savings Rating: Extensive Assessment What's this?

Level	Status	Description
1	Concept not validated	Claims of energy savings may not be credible due to lack of documentation or validation by unbiased experts.
2	Concept validated:	An unbiased expert has validated efficiency concepts through technical review and calculations based on engineering principles.
3	Limited assessment	An unbiased expert has measured technology characteristics and factors of energy use through one or more tests in typical applications with a clear baseline.
4	Extensive assessment	Additional testing in relevant applications and environments has increased knowledge of performance across a broad range of products, applications, and system conditions.
5	Comprehensive analysis	Results of lab and field tests have been used to develop methods for reliable prediction of performance across the range of intended applications.
6	Approved measure	Protocols for technology application are established and approved.

Simple Payback, New Construction (years): 7.8 What's this?

Simple Payback is one tool used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a proposed investment, such as the investment in an energy efficient technology. Simple payback indicates how many years it will take for the initial investment to "pay itself back." The basic formula for calculating a simple payback is:

Simple Payback = Incremental First Cost / Annual Savings

The Incremental Cost is determined by subtracting the Baseline First Cost from the Measure First Cost.

For New Construction, the Baseline First Cost is the cost to purchase the standard practice technology. The Measure First Cost is the cost of the alternative, more energy efficienct technology. Installation costs are not included, as it is assumed that installation costs are approximately the same for the Baseline and the Emerging Technology.

For Retrofit scenarios, the Baseline First Cost is $0, since the baseline scenario is to leave the existing equipment in place. The Emerging Technology First Cost is the Measure First Cost plus Installation Cost (the cost of the replacement technology, plus the labor cost to install it). Retrofit scenarios generally have a higher First Cost and longer Simple Paybacks than New Construction scenarios.

Simple Paybacks are called "simple" because they do not include details such as the time value of money or inflation, and often do not include operations and maintenance (O&M) costs or end-of-life disposal costs. However, they can still provide a powerful tool for a quick assessment of a proposed measure. These paybacks are rough estimates based upon best available data, and should be treated with caution. For major financial decisions, it is suggested that a full Lifecycle Cost Analysis be performed which includes the unique details of your situation.

The energy savings estimates are based upon an electric rate of $.09/kWh, and are calculated by comparing the range of estimated energy savings to the baseline energy use. For most technologies, this results in "Typical," "Fast" and "Slow" payback estimates, corresponding with the "Typical," "High" and "Low" estimates of energy savings, respectively.

TAG Technical Score: 3.86

Details

LED Street Lighting

Street Lighting : LED vs. Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium

Lighting fixtures for residential, rural, and city streets that employ light-emitting diode (LED) technology to deliver better light quality and use less energy.

Item ID: 78

Sector: Commercial

Energy System: Lighting--Fixtures: Outdoor

Technical Advisory Group: 2009 Lighting TAG (#1)

Technical Advisory Group: 2012 LED Lighting TAG (#5)
Average TAG Rating: 3.6 out of 5
TAG Ranking Date: 04/05/2012
TAG Rating Commentary:

For LED street lighting there is a difference between lighting side streets vs. thoroughfares/arterials. LEDs may be cost effective (or soon to be cost effective) in side street applications but the time horizon is longer for applications on primary roads.
There are a lot of really good products available now. We are at the point where the only challenge is education of the market players, and assuring good system design practices.

Synopsis:

Retrofit kits for existing luminaires are also available. Well-designed retrofit kits can deliver the same benefits of integral luminaires.

Baseline Example:

Baseline Description: 150 W HPS
Baseline Energy Use: 823 kWh per year per unit

Comments:

Baseline energy use is calculated assuming a 150 W HPS (high pressure sodium) street lighting consuming 188 W/fixture and operating all night (4380 hr/yr).

Metal halide, mercury vapor, and LPS (low pressure sodium) are alternative baseline technologies, although these technologies are in limited use.

Manufacturer's Energy Savings Claims: Currently no data available.

Best Estimate of Energy Savings:

"Typical" Savings: 50%
Energy Savings Reliability: 4 - Extensive Assessment

Comments:

Numerous field installations of LED street lighting have been completed and document significant savings. These include the City of Los Angeles, USDOE GATEWAY studies and Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council (ETCC) assessments.
Navigant's analysis for USDOE's Solid State Lighting (SSL) program estimated roughly 35% savings, with an average baseline of 900 kWh/year. HPS is estimated to be 85% of installed stock in 2010. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/nichefinalreport_january2011.pdf

Energy Use of Emerging Technology:

411.5 kWh per unit per year What's this?

Energy Use of an Emerging Technology is based upon the following algorithm.

Baseline Energy Use - (Baseline Energy Use * Best Estimate of Energy Savings (either Typical savings OR the high range of savings.))

Technical Potential:
Units: unit
Potential number of units replaced by this technology: 1,000,000
Comments:

Navigant estimated for the USDOE SSL Program 26 million units each of street and highway lighting, for a total United States roadway lighting of more than 50 million units. Weighted for population, estimates are roughly 1 million street lighting units in the Northwest (4% of the U.S.).

Regional Technical Potential:
0.41 TWh per year
47 aMW
What's this?

Regional Technical Potential of an Emerging Technology is calculated as follows:

Baseline Energy Use * Estimate of Energy Savings (either Typical savings OR the high range of savings) * Technical Potential (potential number of units replaced by the Emerging Technology)

First Cost:

Installed first cost per: unit
Emerging Technology Unit Cost (Equipment Only): $290.00
Baseline Technology Unit Cost (Equipment Only): $0.00

Comments:

Quality keeps improving as costs come down for LED lighting systems. There are not enough similar installations to assert a typical cost. The Oakland GATEWAY study showed a drop in cost over less than a year of 34% (from $610 down to $400 per fixture) and energy reduction of 52%. Installation cost can be equivalent to existing technologies once the crew is experienced with the differences in LEDs unless new controls are included.

When Seattle began replacing 100W and 150W HPS lamps with 70W LED street lights, each fixture cost $350, but the price has subsequently dropped to $290 per fixture, enabling the utility to expand their scope more rapidly. When replacement starts on Seattle’s arterial streets, LED street lights with higher lumen output will be required. The higher lumen street lights will cost more; anticipated costs are approximately $800 per fixture. Note: a retrofit cost of $290 will be used to determine cost-effectiveness.

Until recently, new and retrofit LED installations have required new luminaires. Today, some LED retrofit kits are available. Retrofit kits can be lower cost than integral luminaires, but not always, as the price of integral luminaires continues to decline. In addition, depending on the design of the retrofit kit, the labor hours required to gut an existing housing and install a retrofit kit may be greater than the labor hours required to simply replace the entire luminaire.

Cost Effectiveness:

Simple payback, new construction (years): 7.8

Simple payback, retrofit (years): N/A

What's this?

Cost Effectiveness is calculated using baseline energy use, best estimate of typical energy savings, and first cost. It does not account for factors such as impacts on O&M costs (which could be significant if product life is greatly extended) or savings of non-electric fuels such as natural gas. Actual overall cost effectiveness could be significantly different based on these other factors.

Comments:

Simple payback varies greatly depending on the local cost of electricity, utility rate, first cost of equipment, retrofit or new construction application, labor costs and any costs to modify the contract.

Life-cycle costs are a better way to assess long-term measures. In addition to the factors above, it also considers:

Whether the product achieves the projected life expectancy and maintains adequate light output,
Maintenance,
Changes in electricity costs, and
Hazardous waste laws and disposal costs for products containing mercury.

LED technology is rapidly evolving; quality and features are improving while costs are dropping. It is likely to be difficult to calculate actual cost-effectiveness much in advance of actually starting a project.

From the National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP), Lighting Research Center, November 2010:
(Radetsky, 2010)
“Results show that the average relative life cycle cost (excluding pole costs) for the LED streetlights would be 2.3 times the average relative lifecycle cost of the 150W HPS streetlights if the LED modules were to require replacement after 25,000 hours of operation. An LED module life of 50,000 hours would result in the LED streetlights having an average relative lifecycle cost 1.7 times that of the 150W HPS streetlights.”

From "Demonstration Assessment of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Street Lighting Host Site: Lija Loop, Portland, Oregon," November 2009
(PNNL, 2009)

“A price quote provided by a local distributor for the Leotek luminaires was $449 per unit. Installation time for both the HPS cobra head and the LED unit appears to be similar; installation cost, therefore, is assumed as similar and is estimated at about $213 per pole for a new installation. For a retrofit scenario, where conventional 100W HPS fixtures in good operating condition are swapped for LED products, the cost also includes removal of the existing fixture and is estimated at $346. Simple payback for a retrofit scenario calculates as:

($449 + $346) / ($25.08 + $14.40/year) = 20.1 years

In the case of new construction, where only the incremental cost for the LED product ($449-$150 = $299) is considered and the installation cost drops out due to equivalency between the two options, simple payback calculates as:

($299)/($25.08 + $14.40/year) = 7.6 years

Again, realizing this payback would require the city to renegotiate the lighting energy and maintenance rate schedules offered by the local provider.

"…The Leotek product achieved an estimated payback in the Lija Loop installation of about 20 years for replacement scenarios and 7.6 years for new installations. Much of the associated energy savings (55%) supporting these payback periods, however, were achieved by reducing average horizontal photopic illuminance a similar amount (53%).”

From "Demonstration Assessment of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Roadway Lighting on Residential and Commercial Streets Host Site: Palo Alto, California," June 2010:
( PNNL, 06/01/2010)

In Palo Alto, California, seven LED and three induction streetlight luminaires replaced high-pressure sodium (HPS) luminaires on two residential streets.

"Measurement results from the demonstration project show that LED luminaires produce more uniform light output than that of HPS and induction luminaires. LED luminaires also have much better cutoff on the curbside of the streetlight luminaire, resulting in significantly reduced light trespass onto residential properties. Of the three systems (induction, HPS, and LED), the LED used the least energy (44% reduction compared to the baseline HPS)."

Detailed Description:

This emerging technology refers to street lighting luminaires or replacement kits for existing luminaires utilizing light-emitting diode (LED) technology. LEDs offer instant off/on controllability, white light, tight directional control of light spread, and uniform light quality at lower light levels. These qualities allow for significant energy savings. LEDs are now available from multiple manufacturers.

Streetlights are used in many applications, including public roadways of all sizes, commercial parking lots and on corporate and educational campuses. LEDs perform well in cold weather. The product contains no mercury, which is an added benefit as many government agencies are striving to reduce or eliminate this hazardous material in their jurisdictions.

Retrofit kits for existing luminaires are also available. Well-designed retrofit kits can deliver the same benefits of integral luminaires. Retrofit kits typically include a complete LED lighting system, including LED modules and/or arrays, optics, driver, and mounting hardware. Retrofit kits can be lower cost than integral luminaires, but not always as the price of integral luminaires continues to decline. Retrofit kits allow reuse of existing housings, which can be of particular benefit for some applications, such as decorative post top applications. On the other hand, lumen maintenance, thermal management, light distribution, and physical mounting can be of concern for retrofit kits, as the design must allow for proper operation in a wide variety of housings. For best results, utilize retrofit kits certified by the manufacturer for use with the specific make and model of existing street light.

Product Information:
LightingScience, Prolific LSR2

Standard Practice:

Standard street lighting currently uses high-pressure sodium (HPS) or metal halide (MH) where white light is desired (a growing trend). Some mercury-vapor lamps are also still in use. Fluorescent technology, particularly induction lamps, is used in situations where long lamp life is an asset, such as in tunnels and on bridges. Linear fluorescent lighting has ballasts available that can perform at 0°F and lower.

Existing guidelines specify average illumination, although minimum illumination between poles would be more useful.

The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) offers recommendations for light levels for roadways based on size, traffic, and pavement reflectance. The categories are:

Freeway (A & B)
Expressway (and Parkway)
Major (arterial, thoroughfare or preferential, sometimes sub-categorized as primary and secondary)
Collector (run through residential, commercial and industrial zones but not long enough for through-trips)
Local (direct access to residential, commercial, industrial or other property)
Alley

The Outdoor Lighting Pattern book provides these standard practices:

Standard urban design: Use cobra heads at 35 feet high, 250W lamps (usually HPS), about 150 feet apart. Many urban residential streets use 100W to 150W HPS.
Alternative urban design: Use decorative cut-off fixtures, 20 feet high, 150W lamps (MH), 100 feet apart.
Suburban (IESNA + local): Typical installations use cobra heads with 400W lamps (MH), 150 feet apart. Alternative installations use high-efficiency full cut-off (84%), 250W MH lamps or 250W HPS lamps with luminaire efficiency of 81%.
Rural roads lights at major intersections: One or two lights per intersection, 30 feet high, 250W HPS or MH. If both roads are busy, use 400W lamps.

Development Status:

LED street lighting technology is widely available. USDOE programs including the Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) program, LED Lighting Facts program and the DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium (MSSLC) (DOE, 2013), are designed to help prospective purchasers find good products. LED street lights have been installed widely in many major cities.

End User Drawbacks:

First cost: LED products can be more expensive than traditional lighting technologies.

Recommended light levels: This refers to average illumination. Incumbent HPS lights can produce a bright spot directly under the lamp surrounded by very dark space while still meeting "average" light levels over the entire space. Some LED fixtures can provide minimum light levels throughout the roadway and clearer visual acuity because of its higher color-rendering index (CRI), while not producing local bright spots that raise the average calculations to acceptable levels. IESNA is in the process of revising recommendations.

Glare control: Small point-source lights can produce uncomfortable glare. Good design is important.

Lumen maintenance: It is not yet known if LED products will meet RP-8 (Recommended Practices for Roadway Lighting, IES) light levels over their useful life when real-life performance is unknown. Premature lumen depreciation could significantly and negatively affect life-cycle costs.

Obtaining accurate performance data: While some standards for components and luminaires are published, others are still in development. CALiPER testing continues to show inconsistencies between product performance as tested in laboratories and manufacturer claims.

Rapid evolution of product and expected long life: There is some concern about replaceable components in case of premature failures.

Rate schedules and contracts for street lighting: Depending on the contract in place for the electricity used by the lighting, a new contract may need to be renegotiated to take advantage of reduced energy use. Many municipal lighting systems are unmetered; the utility charges a flat rate based on how many lights are on the system. Savings for a lower-wattage system will not be realized unless these contracts are renegotiated.

Simple payback ranges widely: The payback period may exceed the time required by the purchaser to pay back. Payback is usually shorter for new installations (about 5+ years) than retrofits (10 to 20+ years). Payback may exceed the expected life of the project with system life expectancy around 12 years. Payback is greatly affected by financial incentives and electric rates, and may also be affected by local laws requiring products with no mercury.

Light tone: The bluer white light may not appeal to those who like warmer sources.

Disposal considerations: LED street lights are recyclable, although recycling program availability and promotion vary widely.

Operations and Maintenance Costs:

Comments:

The use of self-cleaning glass or coatings on these fixtures could reduce the need for cleaning, which supports manufacturers' claims of reduced maintenance.

Effective Life:

Comments:

The Palo Alto GATEWAY report (PNNL, 2010), contains tables comparing LED lighting technology with HPS and induction systems. The effective life of LED systems is around 10 to 15 years, but real-world data is not yet available in that time frame for verification.

LEDs are generally rated for 50,000 to 70,000 hours, which equals about 12 to 15 years for street lights, but the life varies with driver choice. No real-life, long-term data is available. Lighting technology is evolving so rapidly that by the time a product has been out long enough to determine its longevity, newer products have replaced the one being tested.

The effective life of well-designed retrofit kits is expected to be equivalent to that of new luminaires, however it can be impacted by the housing into which the retrofit kit is installed. The DLC specifies a minimum required lumen maintenance for retrofit kits that is equal to the minimum required lumen maintenance for new luminaires. This lumen maintenance must be demonstrated in a representative housing.

LED: The long-term performance of some LED fixture components is well understood, despite the lack of field data. Manufacturers have products with an L70 life expectancy over 100,000 hours.

Competing Technologies:

Plasma light source: provide a point source, small-size lamp with white light and 30,000 to 50,000-hour life. Lumens per watt similar to LED, at about 115.
Standard induction.
Pulse-start metal halide.
Metal halide: Standard, pulse-start, or ceramic metal halide systems produce white light, but have a significantly shorter life than HPS or LED systems. Induction lights have white light and long life expectancy, with 60,000 to 70,000 hours verified as a realistic expectation in real-world installations. Drivers tend to fail at 60,000 hours and lumen depreciation is 70% of initial output by 70,000 hours.

Reference and Citations:

PNNL, 06/01/2010. Demonstration Assessment of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Roadway Lighting on Residential and Commercial Streets - Host Site: Palo Alto, California
U.S. Department of Energy

PG&E, 11/01/2008. Demonstration Assessment of Light Emitting Diode (LED) Street Lighting, Phase III, Continuation - Host Site: City of Oakland California
U.S. Department of Energy

CLTC, 03/21/2011. Adaptive Exterior Lighting Guide
California Lighting Technology Center, CEC PIER Lighting Demonstration
Special Notes: It provides best-practice advice for implementing adaptive exterior lighting, tips for evaluating and auditing a lighting system, and features of different exterior lighting sources.

Xuan-Hao Lee, et. al., 09/06/2013. High-Performance LED Street Lighting Using Microlens Arrays
Optics Express , 21
Special Notes: The authors assert that an innovation in LED lighting could successfully light the world’s sidewalks and roads while dramatically reducing light pollution. The researchers report that while conventional LED streetlamps leak as much as 20 percent of their light either horizontally or skyward, the new design would limit light pollution to just 2%. (pp. 10612-10621)

PNNL, 11/01/2009. Demonstration Assessment of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Street Lighting - Host Site: Lija Loop, Portland, Oregon
U.S. Department of Energy

DOE, 10/02/2013. Solid State Lighting Program
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

DOE, 10/23/2013. DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

DOE, 02/20/2013. Model Specification for LED Roadway Luminaires
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

PG&E, 01/01/2008. Demonstration Assessment of Light Emitting Diode (LED) Street Lighting - Host Site: City of Oakland, California
U.S. Department of Energy

DOE, 10/24/2013. Solid-State Lighting GATEWAY Demonstration Outdoor Projects
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

CLTC, 2015. California Lighting Technology Center
California Lighting Technology Center, UC Davis

Leora Radetsky, 11/01/2010. Specifier Reports: Streetlights for Collector Roads
National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Lighting Research Center , 13

DOE, 10/22/2013. LED Lighting Facts: Recommended Product Performance Scale (Commercial)
U.S. Department of Energy, LED Lighting Facts

Stan Walerczyk, 07/19/2010. LED vs. Induction: Full Cut-off Streetlights, etc.
Lighting Wizards

EERE, 10/07/2009. LED Measurement Series: Luminaire Efficacy
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Jennifer Bronns, 03/01/2010. Field Test DELTA Snapshots: LED Street Lighting
Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

DOE, 08/20/2013. Considerations when Comparing LED and Conventional Lighting
I.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Ed Ebrahimian, 04/01/2013. City of Los Angeles “Changing our Glow for Efficiency
U.S. Department of Energy, Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium

LA Bureau of Street Lighting, 12/17/2013. LED Fixtures
City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works,

Rank & Scores

LED Street Lighting

2012 LED Lighting TAG (#5)

Technical Advisory Group: 2012 LED Lighting TAG (#5)
TAG Ranking:
Average TAG Rating: 3.6 out of 5
TAG Ranking Date: 04/05/2012
TAG Rating Commentary:

For LED street lighting there is a difference between lighting side streets vs. thoroughfares/arterials. LEDs may be cost effective (or soon to be cost effective) in side street applications but the time horizon is longer for applications on primary roads.
There are a lot of really good products available now. We are at the point where the only challenge is education of the market players, and assuring good system design practices.

Technical Score Details

TAG Technical Score: 3.9 out of 5

How significant and reliable are the energy savings?
Energy Savings Score: 4.0 Comments:

Energy savings can be 30% to 50% with minimal loss in measured lumens.
The biggest savings come from a combination of controls with the streetlights. We estimate that the overall regional savings opportunity is around 40aMW.
Good wattage drop and good hours.
Significant savings are possible (50% or more) but the challenge is getting the savings while ensuring the right light distribution and quality. Adaptive controls can increase savings
Savings increase as the LEDs get better efficiency. It averages from 30 to 60%
So long as we are talking about typical streetlights that replace low-output HPS luminaires (roughly 400 W and less); the savings are well documented and reliably achieved. Higher output units are more marginal and less investigated.
Depends on size category and application but can be from better to best.
Street lighting has developed extensively over the past 4 years and is worth incentivizing.
50% reduction potential is great

How great are the non-energy advantages for adopting this technology?
Non-Energy Benefits Score: 4.2
Comments:

Much improved color properties over HPS, and potentially better optics. Additionally, maintenance cost savings due to long life and solid state light source (vibration resistance). LED fixtures also have a high potential to interface well with advanced control systems.
The improved light quality is significant and improves roadway safety. Controls also hold the potential for many non-energy benefits.
Usually need a bucket truck to change lamps out. Therefore, good maintenance savings.
The reduction in maintenance costs is the primary financial benefit to this application of SSL technology.
Maintenance savings should be high; should be possible to reduce light trespass and pollution with the good choices in fixtures. Possible safety improvements with controls.
With a longer life time the maintenance cost decrease but some cleaning still needs to be done from time to time. If coupled with controls the asset management becomes quite an easy and cheap task
Maintenance records for early users are looking very good. Also, most residents respond very positively to the white light, although glare remains an issue for some
Been mentioned. Controls, CRI, Life, durability
Much can be done with 'controllable' street lighting especially with all the utilities moving towards a 'Smart Grid'. These lights will be able to speak to the grid, offer less light during curfews, offer more light in emergencies, and offer longer life if the LEDs are driven at a lower amperage for part of the time.
Provided the purchaser fully understands all the performance considerations and control options beyond just reduced wattage so a good product is selected for the application.
Reduction in maintenance is good. Better color rendering than hps. Some questions remain regarding cleaning and photocell life expectancy

How ready are product and provider to scale up for widespread use in the Pacific Northwest?
Technology Readiness Score: 4.1
Comments:

As has been shown in the case of Seattle and Los Angeles, manufacturers can ship thousands of units.
Seattle has shown good product quality for residential roadways, and they are now starting to effectively convert arterial roadways. Controls are the weaklink in product quality. There is a lot of product and company flux that raises the risk of adopting controls.
Probably has the best range of products. Not sure about how quickly it can be ramped up.
Some very good products are already on the market with more to come. This is the most mature exterior application segment for SSL lighting.
Most products are good (or, good products are identifiable through QPL) but expertise for helping municipalities make the right choices may need help from BPA
Ready to go and cost are getting under $300
Many large manufacturers now making good quality products
Lower wattages of up to replacement for 400w equiv. seem ready to scale up. Replacement for 100w certainly there = 5. Btwn 100 and 400w Good to Better. Above 400w and the edge. Maybe another year.
This technology is ready for installation now.
6 months to 2 years time frame

How easy is it to change to the proposed technology?
Ease of Adoption Score: 3.4
Comments:

These products are designed to replace one for one the existing streetlighting fixtures with no change in mounting or power hook up.
Current adoption is being driven by cities who have control over their streetlights and are able to adjust utility tariffs to ensure that lower energy costs result in lower utility bills. We believe that advanced controls are necessary to eliminate the tariff issue which is holding back adoption for other cities.
Pretty straight forward.
Primarily just simple fixture change outs on existing poles; however, the optic for the LED replacement fixtures must be consistent with the existing pole placement. All electrical components like LED drivers and photocells must have similar expected lives to the LED array in order to enjoy the reduced maintenance costs.
Users will probably need help to ensure that products meet their needs, guidance is available through the MSSLC
I rated this as only good because users need to understand the technological differences with HPS to make good choices, and need to take into account intensity distributions, which usually requires the involvement of a professional (although larger cities have lighting professionals on staff)
Mostly some back office challenges with billing rates to be figured out. Devil's in the details.
Every application will be different - the right product needs to be chosen to produce the proper lighting
Partially depends on how billing will work out and if they get the benefit of reducing energy usage without large legal fees to do so.
Difficulties overcoming existing rate structures for street lights, paybacks are still relatively long

Considering all costs and all benefits, how good a purchase is this technology for the owner?
Value Score: 3.6
Comments:

Given that the existing technology is fairly efficient (HID), and long life (24k+ hrs), and very inexpensive (~$100), it is a difficult equation just on a cost/ ben basis. However, as the price of LED street lights continues to drop, and the performance continues to increase (life and efficacy), we are seeing a tipping point approach.
The value is great if the city can realize the cost savings from reduce energy use and maintenance costs.
There are currently better alternatives and worst alternatives.
Based upon the success of the side-street implementations in Seattle, the technology and value equation for non-arterial side-street applications is ready for mass adoption.
LED streetlighting is being installed in lots or areas and with proper guidance users should benefit greatly from increased energy savings, maintenance, and control possibilities
Cost trends are excellent, even though current products remain high for many cities. New class of $200 products recently introduced by Cree and Leotek will probably change the game
With education of all concerned.
4 is based on getting a 10 year warranty
I think this is a no-brainer for customers. Municipal maintenance budgets are being cut or are already cut and this technology will help save maintenance dollars. However, this savings is based on a couple other items too: better photocells, not the cheap ones municipalities are currently using that fail regularly; proper thermals for 700mA or higher driven LEDs; proper glare control where necessary.
It will depend on the cost, incentives, and which features will be employed. As time passes even more and better products will be available-and hopefully the poor ones will improve or go away.

Completed:
6/19/2012 4:26:44 PM
Last Edited:
6/19/2012 4:26:44 PM

2009 Lighting TAG (#1)

Technical Advisory Group: 2009 Lighting TAG (#1)
TAG Ranking:
Average TAG Rating:
TAG Ranking Date:
TAG Rating Commentary:

Market Potential

LED Street Lighting

Last Edited:

3/7/2013 10:50:52 AM by TylerD

Market Segment:

Public and private roadways use lighting, so city, county, state and federal agencies all own lighting systems, as do some private corporations. Many utilities own systems outright. Parks, educational and corporate campuses also maintain systems. There is some crossover between street lighting and parking lot lighting products.

Regional Fit:

LED street lights have no particular advantage or disadvantage in the Northwest versus other regions of the country, other than that it is a new technology. People currently adopting LED street lighting (in 2011) must be willing to be early adopters. More people in the Pacific Northwest than in most regions are willing to try new technologies in order to save energy, so they would be more likely to try LED street lighting.

Zones:

Heating Zone 1, Heating Zone 2, Heating Zone 3, Cooling Zone 1, Cooling Zone 2, Cooling Zone 3

Performance Trajectory:

“DOE is congressionally mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to accelerate SSL (LED) technology because both Congress and DOE recognize its tremendous energy-saving potential…SSL—in its relatively early stage of development—offers increasing energy efficiency going forward.” http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/consortium_faq.html#h Through the Solid State Lighting Program, http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/index.html , the federal government is funding research and development as well as standards development and quality assurance programs to move the technology ahead.This technology is rapidly evolving, with improved performance and reduced costs. Either or both may change significantly within the time frame of project planning, procurement, and installation. For retrofits of High Pressure Sodium systems up to about 200 watts, good performance is relatively easy to achieve; for higher wattage systems, good performance is much more difficult to achieve, although improved products are regularly coming on the market. LEDs are touted as being controllable and not adversely affected by frequent switching, yet control systems have not reached their full potential. Without universal protocols, control systems may be problematic when using products from various manufacturers or even different vintages from the same manufacturer.The technology is mature in the sense that products are commercially available and are already the technology of choice in many applications, if cost is not a barrier. It is clearly not a mature technology in the sense of product being stable and predictable. Quality is improving rapidly, and prices are coming down nearly as fast.

Product Supply and Installation Risk:

The main competitor in the foreseeable future is high efficiency plasma lighting, but plasma technology is not well known. Intense government support of LEDs will likely make it the dominant option as soon as the technology evolves to the point where LEDs can produce enough light for all applications. Plasma my still be desirable for high-lumen applications.Materials used to manufacture LEDs come from around the world so international trade is involved.

Technical Dominance:

With government support of LED technology, expect this technology to continue development and evolve.

Market Channels:

Direct marketing by salespeople, manufacturer’s representatives, trade publications, trade shows, and sometimes environmentally focused articles are the primary marketing channels. The Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium and the Northwest Trade Ally Network may also help promote the technology, as may utility communications to customers and social media. Information about the product’s benefits over competing products needs to be based on objective data and have high visibility.

Regulatory Issues:

Much of the savings potential for LEDs comes from control applications. In the case of roadway lighting, there are tort issues to consider which, until addressed, could making adjusting light levels for time periods or occupancy problematic. Determining acceptable light levels based on the color of the light and its effects on visibility may affect existing recommended practices or codes.LEDs will have a market advantage in locations where regulations prohibit products containing mercury because LEDs contain no mercury.

Other risks and barriers:

Solid waste and recycling opportunities are of low interest now because this new technology is expected to last for decades. However, premature failure and premature obsolescence of today’s technology as a result of rapid technical improvements may make it an issue much sooner.A typical warranty for these products is 3-5 years. For some purchasers, a 3-5 year warranty on an item that should last 20 years may not give them the assurance they need that the equipment will continue to perform well for the expected lifetime of the product. Concerns about obtaining compatible replacement products in case of premature spot failures is also an issue because the product is changing rapidly and manufacturers may not carry replacement parts for every model for the entire lifetime of the product. This concern may diminish as modular products are developed and components are standardized so they are inter-compatible over several generations of product.Much of the savings potential for LEDs comes from control applications. In the case of roadway lighting, there are tort issues to consider which, until addressed, could making adjusting light levels for time periods or occupancy problematic. Realizing economic savings can be tied to utility contracts and rate schedules, which may be costly and difficult to modify. Investors should be able to claim economic savings based on energy savings.Lack of specific objective guidance for product selection and specification make it very time consuming and difficult to choose a product. More information on how to purchase this product needs to be easily available and understood. The Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium (MSSSLC) specification draft is a good start.

Basis of Savings:

Street lighting is done in many ways, with most municipalities developing their own standards and practices rather than using the IES RP-8, the Recommended Practices for illuminance levels and design. This makes it extremely challenging to come up with a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to product selection, maintained light levels, or defining what savings and life-cycle costs will be. The current BPA Existing Building Calculator includes demonstration projects and one-time non-specified lighting projects as needing to save at least 20% kW on new projects and 25% on existing ones, and the projects require BPA approval in advance. This would seem to indicate that, at least for now, custom projects are in order.Increasingly, LED street lighting fixtures are appearing on approved lists of performance standards. Because of product variability, it is important that manufacturers provide very specific information so the buyer gets a light that performs as the buyer intends. Some of this information is available from the Lighting Facts Label from the SSL Quality Advocates program: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/advocates.html.The Design Lights Consortium offers a list of qualified products at:http://www.designlights.org/solidstate.about. QualifiedProductsList_Publicv2.php .The Lighting Design Lab in Seattle offers an approved list of LED products that meet Energy Star specifications but are not yet approved as Energy Star products. In the case of street lighting, which does not have an Energy Star category, several qualified products are listed:http://www.lightingdesignlab.com/LED-List/LDL_LED_lamp_list.pdf . Products should probably be qualified on at least one of these resources to be eligible for incentives. Additionally, the Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium MSSSLC has developed a draft of a model roadway lighting specification which, once finalized, might be a useful document for evaluating projects.

Completed:

12/6/2012 3:19:25 PM by AngelaP

Updates:
What basis do you have for claims made in Regional Fit field? Isn't SCL and the Municipal Streetlight Consortium studying LED streetlights in PNW conditions - fog, rain, et cetera? Any results from that?