Energy Efficient LED Lights Provide a Much Larger Field of Light

Driving under traditional amber-colored lights can really play tricks on the eyes. You go from light to dark over and over again because the bulbs are focused straight down, creating gaps. The light never covers the entire street. But energy efficient LED lights provide a much larger field of light, and they can be positioned to cover exactly what is needed. Seattle City Light's Scott Thomsen said the city has already replaced 20,000 residential streetlights with LEDS, and it should have all the city's neighborhoods done by 2014. The city expects to save over $2 million a year in energy costs by making this move, and it's testing the lights on the arterials with the goal of replacing every streetlight in the city with LEDs. But Thomsen says improving safety is just as important as savings. "More depth of field that you have, how much better your peripheral vision and how much easier it is to spot something in the roadway," he said. "A pothole that you need to avoid as a driver. Whether it's an animal that has run out into the street. Whether it's a bicyclist or a pedestrian on the side of the road." The police really like these new lights because they provide a truer color to the eye. You can make out the colors of clothes and cars from much farther distances. But as you've probably noticed with LED lights at your home, they come in all shades of white. Thomsen said the city ran into trouble with their first attempt. "Some of the most energy-efficient lights were a very cool color, a little more on the blue end of the scale," he said. "Particularly in one area of Capitol Hill, people really did not like what they called 'zombie blue.'" The city tweaked the lights to a more pleasing shade of white. They now give off light very close to moonlight. Thomsen said the new lights will pay for themselves in about seven years. "You get a better quality of light," he said. "You get more reliable service . You use a lot less energy, and it saves you a lot of money." Another feature these LED's have over traditional bulbs is that the city can program them to meet traffic patterns. They can turn up or turn down their intensity so they'll be their brightest when the most cars are on the road and a little softer but still bright enough to provide safety the rest of the time. And for those of you who are concerned these brighter lights will increase light pollution, Thomsen said the light can be angled so they don't project above the fixtures. Source: mynorthwest.com