LED Stoplights: Handling Traffic the Efficient Way

A number of cities across the United States have begun implementing some form of environmental best practices. Local leaders everywhere are taking initiative, seeing the benefit in becoming more energy efficient – both in terms of dollars and environmental stewardship. One way they’re doing this is to install efficient alternatives around town.

Let’s look at a popular one: LED stoplights

Bright, Long Lasting, And Powerful

LED simply stands for “light emitting diode.” Originally devised in the 1960s, these lights were at first low-intensity, but as time went on, they grew in power and now are visible across the spectrum (ultraviolet and infrared, for example). As their technology moved forward, LEDs acquired the capacity to be highly efficient alternatives to traditional lighting.

One of the best things about LED lights is their immediate light up and ability to emit maximum light capacity right away. Many conventional bulbs have to warm, but with LEDs, there is no wait time. This is useful for both emergency vehicles and stoplights.

LEDs also have an incredibly long life. By some measures, they usually last up to 100,000 hours – that’s over 4,000 days or about 11 years. Now, of course, LED stoplights aren’t always on at the same time. With the signal changing time factored in, many see life these bulbs last over 15 years, and for bulbs that only burn at night, some have seen a life span of 25 years.

Clearly, these bulbs last.

Not only does the long life make them low maintenance and cost effective, but it also speaks to their reliability, which is also topped by the best benefit of all: efficiency. Consider this: to match the light emission of 60-watt incandescent bulb, an LED bulb needs only 7.5 watts of power. That’s about a tenth as much.

Nation Wide Greening

By installing LEDs across the nation in as many public areas a possible, we can (and have) see huge energy savings, which translates into huge monetary savings. While there are some issues with LEDs (sometimes expensive and they won’t melt snow in stoplights), they are a truly promising investment for any home and city.

Think you city should have LEDs? Demand them today!