Whether it is a small town, a city, or just a suburb, street lighting helps residents easily navigate the streets when driving, cycling, or walking at night, and offers security.
But an extra factor is how street lighting with the right design brings character to the streets.
Decorative street light poles can bring a street to life in the same way that rows of trees down both sides of a street provide a unique view.
Increasingly we are seeing municipal outdoor street lighting and outdoor lighting around family homes and gardens taking advantage of LED lighting.
LED stands for light-emitting diode. They are one of the fastest-developing and energy-efficient lighting technologies on the market. The bulbs are more durable, last longer, and offer quality lighting.
There are so many benefits provided by LED lighting.
Energy Savings
LED outdoor lighting saves on energy consumption. The initial investment may be higher, but the long-term operational costs are much lower. This is good news for the environment and for the budget.
LEDs use around 50% less energy than traditional lighting sources. This means that for the same level of light output, an LED will use half as much power.
This saving is particularly important for street lighting as it is generally left on for long periods.
Improved Lighting Quality
LEDs provide a much whiter light than traditional lighting sources. This means that the light is more easily directed where it is needed and there is less wasted light.
The light emitted by LEDs is also less harmful to the human eye than the light from traditional sources.
They Turn on Immediately
CFLs usually take seconds to reach their full level of brightness, which can be frustrating, but LED lights achieve full illumination immediately.
Outdoor LED Lights are Cooler
Because LED lights use less energy, they are cooler to touch, making them far safer to handle. However, 90% of the energy of incandescent bulbs is heated, and for CFLs, it is 80%.
Comparing Costs
LED lights do cost more to purchase and install, but over time they lead to big savings compared to other light sources.
Let’s compare a $50 LED fixture with a $1 incandescent bulb.
That seems like a no-brainer, buy the incandescent bulb, and save yourself $49, that’s easy math!
But that incandescent bulb will cost you $40/year to operate whereas the LED light costs just $4/year!
After two years your incandescent bulb has cost you $81, compared to the LED bulbs cost of just $58!
An LED bulb will last around 50,000 hours compared to an incandescent light bulb which will only last roughly 1,200 hours.
You will need to replace the incandescent bulb 41 times over the life of a LED bulb.
Now count all the light fittings inside and outside your house.
LEDs are Great for Outdoor Lighting
LEDs are superior to other lighting forms because they have these advantages:
- Low maintenance
- Durable
- Easily directed to light up specific spaces
- Do not attract insects
- Energy efficiency leading to huge costs savings
- Eco-friendly
- Safer when within reach of children or placed near plants.
When used in an outdoor garden setting, LED lighting won’t need as many hardware upgrades or wiring to support it. The brightness and ability to direct light can help you create uneven mixes of light and darkness to fit with the irregular design of most gardens.
When used as Street lamps there is greater flexibility to direct the light to where it is needed, and the greater brightness makes the streets safer to walk at night. The cost savings to a city council would increase markedly each year from midway through the second year.
LEDs really are the lighting source for the future.