The following is a collection of questions and answers pertaining to our solid-state lighting. Click on the question. If you don't see the question & answer you seek, please fill out the anonymous questionnaire below and we will post the answer here as soon as possible.
What are the advantages to using LED luminaires?
What's the difference between efficiency and efficacy?
Why Does Thermal Management Matter?
Why is the life span of an LED measured as lumen depreciation?
How much electricity does this lighting actually save?
Are these maintenance savings real?
I want the savings benefit now but how can I afford it?
What's the advantage to an internal photocell?
How can these LED lights replace higher Lumen devices?
What standards or industrial norms apply to this product?
Will the streetlight have the same burn-out failures as some of the LED traffic signals?
Do electric utility providers have rebates or funding assistance?
Is this suitable for use in commercial parking areas?
Is this suitable for use around high wind coastal areas?
What is an LED?
LED is the abbreviation for Light-Emitting Diode. It is a solid state semiconductor diode introduced in the early 1960’s that emits light when a voltage is applied to it. The electronics industry has used LED technology for many years as indicator lights for various electronic devices such as TV’s stereos and instrumentation. In more recent years, LED technology has progressed in efficiency and cost to the point where it is viable for general lighting applications.
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What are the advantages to using LED luminaires?
LEDs offer several advantages over standard incandescent and HID (High Intensity Discharge) type lighting. These include: Superior life time and reliability, High efficiency – currently up to 130lumens/watt, High CRI (Color Rendering Index) – colors are more true-to-life, The ability to focus the light to meet specific areas / patterns, Increased durability. This translates into energy y savings, maintenance savings and an overall reduction in cost of ownership over the product's lifetime.
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What's the difference between efficiency and efficacy?
LED Efficiency is how well a source is saving/utilizing energy (how efficient the source is). It is usually expressed as a percentage and is derived by dividing the total output power of the light source by the actual electrical input power to the source. For example; if a LED has an output power of 1 watt and the input power is 2 watts, then the efficiency is ½ or 50%.
LED Luminous Efficacy is a measure of the energy efficiency of a light source / system. It is expressed in lumens per watt and is derived by dividing the total luminous output of a device by the total electrical input power. For example; the total lumens of a fixture is 1000 lumens and the input power is 40 watts, then the luminous efficacy is 1000/40 or 25 lumens/watt.
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Why Does Thermal Management Matter?
[Source: DOE http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/why_thermal_mgt.html]
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Why is the life span of an LED measured as lumen depreciation?
The life span of an LED luminaire is significantly longer than traditional incandescent or HID light sources, typically lasting 50,000 hours or longer. LEDs generally do not “burn-out” but diminish in brightness over time. Therefore, the product life is measured as lumen (brightness/output) depreciation.
The Illuminating Engineering Society's (IES) current standard for calculating the life of an LED is the point at which the LED reaches 30 percent lumen depreciation. An LED fixture’s life time may be rated for 50,000 hour due to the fact it has reached 30 percent lumen depreciation, however, even after 100,000 hours, an LED would still be operating, but at a decreased lumen output.
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How much electricity does this lighting actually save?
Savings depend upon what lighting you replace and your electricity cost.
IntenCity-1 is intended for 100 watt HPS replacement, for which it will save 50% on your present bill. IntenCity uses about 75 watts, and a 100W HPS uses about 130 with ballast.
You will save two-thirds (2/3) when replacing a 150+30 watt lamp+ballast. Given this comparison, at 10¢ per kWh, each IntenCity streetlight will save $400 in ten years for energy alone. Download a cost calculator here
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Are these maintenance savings real?
Absolutely. Given a flat $75 per year maintenance allotment per conventional lamp, IntenCity saves $750.00 in ten years for each individual luminaire. However, this figure is low according to the experience of some utility providers that lease and maintain streetlights. It's a matter of averaging over the product lifespan.
Municipality accounting for this maintenance often comes from three or more budgets: materials, labor, equipment, etc. Unless there is some tracking to associate streetlight call-outs and general maintenance, calculations of savings are difficult.
A single replacement HPS ballast costs more than the entire fixture, and the labor and capital equipment to replace that ballast (typically $220) must be accounted for. That conventional lighting fixture isn't nearly as economical as you thought when you track the maintenance parts and labor. Download a cost calculator here
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I want the savings benefit now but how can I afford it?
Lease. We have custom and municipal lease programs that provide immediate savings, even in the first year of installation! The monthly payment can be less than the amount you've been spending on maintenance and electricity, so this type contract will provide the streetlights and put money back in the bank, all from the reduction of what you currently pay in combined energy and maintenance costs for streetlights.
Email info@intencitylighting.com for more information about leasing and performance contracts.
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What's the advantage to an internal photocell?
Maintenance. Typical photocells are rated for about enough cycles to last through two bulbs. Many utility providers and some agencies replace the photocell whenever they replace the bulb, so they won't have a call-out for a 7 dollar part.
Conventional photocells are on top of the fixture in a socket, where birds and debris can cause the light to turn on in error, or cause it to fail and not turn on at all. If they leak water, the ballast will fail almost immediately. They're exposed to direct Sunlight each and every day.
IntenCity's photocell is internal, in the shade for better longevity. It's solid-state, voltage independent, and rated for hundreds of thousands of hours and millions of cycles of operation.
Upgrade to long-life lighting, and don't diminish that reliability with an obsolete control.
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How can these LED lights replace higher lumen devices?
Controlled directional emission and elimination of the "hot spot"
Bulb type light fixtures may be about 60% efficient in getting all that light to the target, meaning that 40% of their light is bouncing around trying to get out of the fixture when the bulb itself is blocking the opening. IntenCity is more than 80% efficient getting its light to the target. The 75 Watt LED streetlight is able to provide 3-times more footcandles on the ground per Lumen generated than conventional bulb fixtures.
That "hot spot" produced by HID lighting is eliminated with the IntenCity Luminaire, in part for Dark Skies compliance, but mostly because it is an unnecessary waste of energy. Typically 1/3 of the HID light production is focused downward and creates 4 to 5 times higher brightness there, rather than spreading that energy outward.
In addition, some communities use a multiplier due to customized color temperature. In that regard, when luminance is about 1 cd/M2 (near scotopic) IntenCity provides similar night vision effectiveness as a HPS bulb of approximately 6,000 lm. The Human eye can see better at night when the lighting color is weighted higher in the blue-green part of the spectrum. Studies have shown this for many years, but lighting of this quality has been way too costly for large area outdoor lighting, until now.
IntenCity will never replace all lighting, but its color quality makes it a very good solution for night visibility. And a more blue light source reduces the brightness needed at night.
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What standards or industrial norms apply to this product?
Conforms:
Will this streetlight have the same burn-out failures as some of the LED traffic signals?
No. Most LED traffic signals use LED technology that's over 20 years old, which doesn't provide for sufficient thermal management in the density required.
Traffic signals operate at their highest current during the hottest times of the day. Streetlights operate for only half the hours any day, during the cooler nighttime temperatures.
Also, IntenCity uses the entire fixture for LED cooling, and while its housing may feel hot to the touch, lab tests have shown its LEDs run cooler than any other LED streetlight in the industry.
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Do electric utility providers have rebates or funding assistance?
Some utility providers are working toward this. We have provided technical data to several utilities now studying consumption and payback characteristics. LED streetlights will reduce the nighttime peak demand, and that may lessen their need for adding distribution lines in some locations. Contact your utility provider with a proposal of quantity and find out which locations they may offer a rebate.
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Is this lighting suitable for use in commercial parking areas?
Yes. IntenCity exceeds the color rendition lighting quality of most conventional streetlight bulbs. Parking areas with broad color ranges of vehicles, store fronts and patron clothing are an ideal application, and its high CRI and ground footcandle per watt ratio cannot be matched.
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Is this lighting suitable for use around high wind coastal areas?
Yes. IntenCity has the lowest EPA (Effective Projected Area) of any outdoor luminaire. This luminaire has been wind tunnel tested to 150 MPH and it may be anticipated that if the pole withstands the wind, the luminaire will be there when the power is restored. See wind tunnel test videos here.
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IntenCity has standard 5 year warranty provisions against failure due to workmanship, defective components, and luminance degradation of more than 30%. All units undergo continuous elevated temperature burn-in for a sufficient period to detect component infant mortality.
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