Exterior LED Lighting: Efficiency and Safety Advantages - Evitech

Exterior LED Lighting: Efficiency and Safety Advantages

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Exterior LED Lighting: Efficiency and Safety Advantages

Exterior LED lighting has great potential for energy savings due to its extensive hours of operation. 

In many homes and businesses, outdoor lamps stay on for more than 12 hours daily. LED lighting also makes outdoor spaces safer, as it can be instantly reactivated if accidentally turned off. On the other hand, HID lamps typically used outdoors require several minutes to reactivate.

Exterior LED lighting offers energy efficiency, security, and reliability.

There are two main options for implementing LED lighting in an existing facility. 

Some LED fixtures are designed to use existing HID fixture housings, and installation is as easy as changing the bulb. There are also integral LED luminaires that completely replace the previous product – lamp, ballast, and housing.

Energy Savings of Exterior LED Lighting

The savings achieved by LED lighting varies by project and can be determined by comparing proposed lighting to existing lighting. Savings of over 60% can typically be expected when switching from HID to LED lighting.

As an example of the savings possible, consider a project where 100 exterior HID fixtures are planned to be replaced. Each unit consumes 450 watts, and the installation is used 12 hours per night, accumulating 4,380 hours per year.

The LED luminaires proposed as a replacement only consume 150 W each.

  • The current lighting system consumes 197,100 kWh per year.
  • By using LED lighting, consumption is reduced to 65,700 kWh per year.
  • In this example, the annual savings is 131,400 kWh.

Assuming an electric rate of 15 cents per kWh translates to an annual savings of US$19,710. It is also worth mentioning that HID bulbs generally require a change before 10,000 hours of use. 

On the other hand, LED luminaires have a useful life of between 50,000 and 100,000 hours, depending on the manufacturer. In addition to energy savings, there are substantial savings in lamp replacement.

Exterior LED Lighting as a Security Measure

A notable downside of HID lighting is its inability to wake up instantly. In other words, any outdoor space with HID bulbs remains dark for several minutes if the lighting is accidentally turned off. Such a fault can cause an accident in a parking lot, or opportunistic criminals can exploit it.

LED bulbs can be instantly turned off and on, unlike HIDs. Therefore, an outdoor space with LED lamps will not be dark for several minutes if the lighting is accidentally switched off.

LED lighting can be instantly reactivated, while HID bulbs have a standby time.

LED products are also characterized by precisely emitting light in the desired direction. On the other hand, HID bulbs emit light in all directions, and internal reflectors focus their illumination on the luminaires. HID lamps can cause glare, increasing the chances of a road accident.

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