LED Trafic Lights.... Great till it snows.

[patonb]

Things you just don't think about.

In recent years, numerous municipalities have taken a shine to LED (light emitting diodes) technology for traffic signals. And what's not to love? These environmentally-friendly lights, which use up to 90% less energy than traditional incandescent lights, also last much longer than incandescent lights. Surely going the LED route is win-win, right?

Alas, leave it to Mother Nature and Old Man Winter to lay a beating on a good idea.

At issue: as motorists battle the elements during the winter driving months, there's now concern that LED traffic lights could pose an unexpected risk on the roads. Although incandescent light bulbs are energy hogs, at least such lights generate enough heat to melt away blowing snow. But because LEDs use only a fraction of the energy and because they generate a bright light, LEDs fail to create enough heat to melt away the snow that adheres to traffic lights during snowstorms.

Recently, the mayor of blizzard-prone Halifax warned that blowing snow could blot out the signals at some of the city's 250-plus intersections.

“We are experiencing, during wet snow events, blocking of some of the lights,” Peter Kelly recently told The Halifax Weekly News. “It happens in particular when the direction of the lights is head-on to the storm.”


South of the border, U.S. officials are also racing to find ways to deal with the LED/snow problem.

And with good reason: last year, a driver in Illinois was killed as she was turning left through a green light. A driver in the oncoming lane went through a red light, which was entirely blocked by snow. He slammed into the woman's car, killing her instantly.

Green Bay, Wis. – a city where the deep freeze reigns during the winter months – recently replaced all of its traffic signals with LEDs. And these days, municipal workers are struggling to keep the lights snow-free and visible.

Some cities have workers scraping snow off lights; other municipalities are installing small snow shields.

In any event, something to think about next time you approach a signalized intersection on a cold, snowy day.

http://www.thepassinglane.ca/2010/02/led-lights-environmentally-friendly-except-during-winter.html

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Lucky us, no snow here

 

[Antec-User]

Hmm.. Never thought of that.. I'll look tomorrow on the way to class..

 

[wafflehammer]

man LEDs are such bs..yea they might be more energy efficient but they leech off of that. I was looking at some christmas lights...about $1.80 for 100 lights ...or $12(yes, twelve) for 70 lights. That's ridiculous.

And this kind of thing is just proof that people are to eager to get into this energy efficient phase...they should of properly tested the lights before actually putting them into action

 

[Luke]

.about $1.80 for 100 lights ...or $12(yes, twelve) for 70 lights. That's ridiculous.

you do realize that these led xmas lights save more money in one xmas season then they are more expensive then the normal? So they are cheaper...lol You also don't have to worry about burnt out bulbs as much, and most led lights work in a parallel circuit, while normal usually work in series, which means if one goes out, they all go out. Normal can be bought in a parallel circuit setup, but they are more expensive.

 

[wafflehammer]

you do realize that these led xmas lights save more money in one xmas season then they are more expensive then the normal? So they are cheaper...lol You also don't have to worry about burnt out bulbs as much, and most led lights work in a parallel circuit, while normal usually work in series, which means if one goes out, they all go out. Normal can be bought in a parallel circuit setup, but they are more expensive.

I highly doubt 70-100 bulbs is going to increase your electric bill by $10-15 over a what? 1 or 2 month period? Yea...I really can't see that happening. Especially when a lot of people don't leave their tree on 24/7 so lets say 5 hours a day for 60 days. That's like 13 days of actually being on. So that comes out to saying those lights cost you a dollar a day in electricity more than the LED's. Then in my area electricity is like $0.08/kwh ( I know it's a lot cheaper than most areas). yea.......really not seeing how it saves you that much money.

In a traffic light that's going to be on 24/7/365 I could see it being cheaper. But then add in the danger of it (as shown in this thread) and then most likely a cost to correct that danger...kinda makes it not so cheap(Unless you calculate it for a LONG period then the cost would get cheaper of course)

Are they the future? Yes. Do people rip you off because of that? Yes..yes they do.

 

[Luke]

I highly doubt 70-100 bulbs is going to increase your electric bill by $10-15 over a what? 1 or 2 month period? Yea...I really can't see that happening. Especially when a lot of people don't leave their tree on 24/7 so lets say 5 hours a day for 60 days. That's like 13 days of actually being on. So that comes out to saying those lights cost you a dollar a day in electricity more than the LED's. Then in my area electricity is like $0.08/kwh ( I know it's a lot cheaper than most areas). yea.......really not seeing how it saves you that much money.

i was thinking more like house lights dude lol, who buys led lights for a xmas tree? there only on for like a few hours at a time.

 

[wafflehammer]

That's what I was discussing...I gave prices for christmas lights. Then you started going on about it lol...I said x-mas lights, you responded, so I responded back with more stuff on the topic of christmas lights lol

yea I would agree..anything that in daily use for the whole year they would save you money on the bill...but still cost to much

EDIT: and you even plainly said christmas lights too....so obviously you knew what I was talking about lol

you do realize that these led xmas lights save more money in one xmas season then they are more expensive then the normal? So they are cheaper...lol You also don't have to worry about burnt out bulbs as much, and most led lights work in a parallel circuit, while normal usually work in series, which means if one goes out, they all go out. Normal can be bought in a parallel circuit setup, but they are more expensive.

 

[Luke]

^no dude, lmao, what i meant when i said house lights was Xmas house lights...like ones on your HOUSE lol, i was saying that i was not talking about led xmas TREE lights....They are the same, but the ones on your house are used much more. So i was saying that buying led lights for your house would be cheaper after a season, rather then buying the normal ones.

 

[wafflehammer]

Eh even then what I said hold true. Because those cost more too (roughly around the same price) so you're still spending $10 more per bundle..and you leave those on only when it's dark out and most likely turn off before you go to sleep... Anyway you look at it you're going to be spending like $50+ more on LED lights than regular lights..and I doubt your bill is going to go up $50 over a month's time when you rarely use something. ( I think my electric bill at home averages around like $60...so that's almost doubling the bill)


LED = suck for decoration lights

LED = has benefits for every day lights..but still the up front cost is heavy