Quote:
Originally Posted by RocketSurgeon
Isn't that pretty much true with everything ever?  |
to answer your question about increasing efficiency, that's not necesarily true unless you're talking about technology on the macro level. HPS lights, which are the current technology, were developed in the 60s, and while they were tested in some areas early on, they didn't see widespread adoption until the 80s and 90s; at that point the technology had progressed enough that it was about as efficient as it could get.
LED and induction streetlights weren't introduced until the late 90s, and they're seeing a much faster adoption rate. the problem is, the technology is still being developed and they haven't worked out all the kinks yet. they are getting more and more efficient as time goes on; for example, the LEDs that los angeles installed are only 75 LPW, and now they've got fixtures that get 95 LPW and some that get over 100; that's only been about 2-3 years time to see such a rapid rate of improvement, and now that induction is getting renewed investment after once being labelled a 'dead technology', you're seeing efficiency going up there also.
obviously there is a limit to how efficient these lights are going to get, so it might be a good question to ask whether we should install 20-year fixtures at 95 LPW today, or wait a couple of years and get 150 LPW fixtures that have better optics, and might be cheaper.
i do think they need to be switched out soon. i don't like HPS lights. they are ugly, they make the city orange-brown at night and most of the scotopic lumens they put out do little more than agitate the eyes. but if we can wait and get a better deal, i think that needs to be part of the discussion, also.