LED street lights: types of lights, applications and tips for choosing

Street lighting is one of the largest expenditures. Installation, maintenance of fixtures and the constant supply of electricity to facilities are expensive. Here you can save on the operation of devices that consume the least electricity. Recently, LED street lighting has become very popular.

Advantages and disadvantages

LEDs were invented by Japanese scientists in the early 90s. The discovery brought them the Nobel Prize, and the world received devices that are characterized by low energy consumption with good luminous efficiency. Advantages of LED Street Lights:

1. Significant energy savings. With low power consumption (7 times lower than incandescent lamps), they generate a large amount of light radiation, do not cause overloads in the power grid, and therefore wear out less.
2. Strength. The aluminum housing of the LED lamps is designed to be free from dirt and water. The devices are used only for street lighting (floodlights, lanterns), equipped with a valve that drains condensate.
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3. Good color rendering. LEDs have optimal light parameters (they do not distort the color of objects, do not flicker). These characteristics are especially important for driver concentration.
4. Intelligent control system. When operating these devices, you can use an intelligent cost optimization system electricity, and it is also possible to change the color of the luminous flux to ensure the best visibility in different conditions.
5. Durability. With continuous operation, they can last 15 years. Taking into account the fact that street lamps work only at night, the service life reaches 25 years.
6. There are no restrictions for the operation of LED lights, they can be used everywhere, since withstand temperatures from -60 to +55 ° C.
7. Reliability. Street floodlights have anti-vandal protection. All LED luminaires are silent and fireproof.
8. Environmental friendliness. LEDs have low carbon footprint. The structure does not contain toxic substances and mercury, it consists of plastic and electrical wires. No special conditions are required for their disposal.
9. Easy installation and subsequent replacement of lamps. The LED strip is especially easy to fix.

Among the disadvantages of LED street lighting, one can single out their high cost. However, the low energy consumption of these devices provides significant savings and more than justifies their purchase and installation in the future in houses, on the streets and in household plots.

Types of LED devices

Luminaires are used both as a single device (spotlights, lanterns) and in groups. Over a large area, several devices are installed at once at a certain interval. Devices may differ in the type of base and shape. Types of street lamps:

1. Searchlights. High-power devices are installed for lighting a large area (sports complexes, squares, parking lots, architectural lighting), installation on special equipment. They are distinguished by a powerful directional luminous flux and durability.
2. Lanterns. Devices for lighting highways, central streets. Lamps with a power of 450 watts are installed. For minor roads, sidewalks and backyards, 150 W lanterns are sufficient. This group includes signal lights that are installed in order to protect emergency areas on the streets. The warning devices withstand the most extreme weather conditions and are resistant to mechanical damage. The body is made of shock-resistant and frost-resistant plastic.
3. Duralight. It is made in the form of a thin plastic tape, inside which there are powerful LEDs. This type of decorative lighting is used to illuminate advertising objects in the city and decorate pillars, medium-sized garden buildings in landscape design.
4. Duraflex. It differs from duralight in greater flexibility and waterproof shell. It is used in decorative lighting of shop windows and in landscape design.
5. Net. This type of lighting comes in many varieties. The original luminous mesh, light in appearance, but actually strong and durable, is installed between two supports and serves for decorative decoration of buildings and objects in country houses, parks.
6. Ruler. Flexible tape made of silicone coated plastic. Low power LED bulbs (up to 15 W) are fixed on it. It has a long operational life, it is used to illuminate billboards and stretch marks.

Scope of application

Interest in LEDs for home lighting is only growing, and landscape designers have long been using the unique capabilities of these products. LED devices illuminate:

• residential objects;
• motorways;
• pedestrian sidewalks and crossings;
• the territory of shopping centers;
• shop windows;
• bike paths;
• protected objects (monuments, steles);
• road signs;
• bridges;
• tunnels;
• roller displays;
• billboards;
• digital displays;
• media facades;
• city ​​lights;
• backyard territories and buildings.

Selection recommendations

The stores have a wide variety of lamps of Asian, Russian and European production. It is not worth saving and installing cheap appliances on your personal plot. As a rule, they break down after a short period of time or give out half of the declared brightness.

When buying, you should pay attention not only to the power of the lamps, but also to other important characteristics - brightness, color rendering, lighting angles. Cheap appliances may not have overvoltage protection.

Manufacturers usually indicate in the passport how the device reacts to voltage surges, whether it is protected from exposure to negative temperatures.

Usually, quality devices are not made from just one LED. Their design contains light-emitting diodes, lenses that focus the light flux, and aluminum plates for heat dissipation. This secondary optics is essential for any instrument.

The technology of creating LEDs is being improved every year. They become brighter, their service life increases, and the efficiency of their application increases.