LED streetlights cash in on low-energy technology

High-powered, low-carbon lamps ready for rollout across UK

Britain’s street lighting is increasingly likely to be provided by LEDs in future, as this super-efficient lighting technology continues to show dramatic improvements in performance.

In the latest development in this fast-moving field, streetlights developed by Advanced LED to last up to 50,000 hours – eight times the life of traditional streetlamps – are to be rolled out across Oldham and Rochdale as part of a £150 million deal secured by E.ON.

E.ON trialled the lamps in the car park of its Coventry visitor centre and recorded a 26% saving in energy consumption and 40% reduction in carbon emissions. But, in spite of their high efficiency and reduced maintenance, the take-up of LEDs for street lighting has been held back due to initial installation costs.

Rather than wait for prices to fall, E.ON bid to cover the necessary outlay itself – and recoup it gradually from each local authority as part of a 25-year Private Finance Initiative deal. Rochdale and Oldham are the first boroughs to sign up, and E.ON estimates that if these lights were rolled out to neighbourhoods across the UK, we could see a saving of 600,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. According to industry expert Giles Boardman of Efficient Light, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “There’s been a huge shift in quality over the last few months. Building regulations demand a minimum of 40 lumens per watt, but LEDs are now on the market at over 100 lumens per watt. That’s more than twice the light for the same price.”

Twice the light, but less cause for concern about light pollution. As Boardman explains: “LEDs are highly directional, so instead of flooding huge areas with light, you get it exactly where you need it”.

And development seems to be directed towards intelligence. James Millar from GreenLED expects to see the development of ‘intelligent’ LED systems for A-roads and motorways within the next few years. “There’s no use in having lights at full beam on a stretch of empty road. LED lamps in the future will respond to traffic movement, using infrared sensors.”

Innovations are already under way in electricity sourcing for LEDs. In Ireland, Donegal County Council is planning to light a footbridge over the River Finn with the gush of water through a micro hydro-turbine, and in Bangladesh, renewable energy company Grameen Shakti has installed over 15,000 LED solar-home systems. As Anne Wheldon of the Ashden Awards explains: “Where electricity is very expensive, the greater efficiency of LEDs means stand-alone systems can run on a smaller PV module and a smaller battery”. – Anna Simpson

7 May 2009

Anna Simpson