LIGHTING DESIGN & APPLICATION

t is beyond dispute that LEDs will penetrate the public lighting market in the foreseeable future.

The use of LEDs in public lighting potentials, challenges and pitfalls

LEDs will modify our perception of light as they enable us to light the street and create ambiance in a dynamic way, by varying the colour as well as the lighting level according to our requirements. Likewise from an ecological standpoint LEDs hold the potential to significantly reduce the energy consumption for public lighting. The opportunities are enormous and so are the pitfalls for the lighting engineer as well as the customers. This paper will from the standpoint of a luminaire manufacturer who manufactures LED luminaires as well a HID luminaires give a basic introduction into the application of LEDs in public lighting and point out common misconceptions comparing todays LED performances with HID performances as well as the related life cycle costs in a realistic way. It will also present an overview on current designs of LED luminaires and give an outlook to current projects in street lighting, tunnel lighting and ambient lighting. Pu b l i s h e d s t a t e m e n t s i n c l u d e : 112 W high-power LEDs replace 250 W conventional sodium lamps, 44 W LEDs instead of 250 W HPS and Metal Halide or even: The 38 W LED Lamp can replace a 400 W traditional sodium lamp. The public lighting community is overwhelmed by this news which mirrors the enormous expectations as well as the incertitude about the disruptive LED evolution. This article will illustrate under which conditions LEDs will be able to replace conventional gas discharge sources today and what the technical and by Steffen Holtz, et al, Rue de Mons, R-Tech

Fig. 1: Evolution of LED efficacy in comparison to other light sources.

economical constraints for a further expansion will be. Efficiency of high-power LED systems a quick survey In general the efficiency of an LED system is determined by different parameters, which depend on the type of LED, the electronic components, and the LED optics. LED efficacy The efficacy of LEDs has increased tenfold during the last ten years. Today
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cool white LEDs (>5000K CCT) with 100 lm/W are commercially available. LED suppliers generally predict an efficacy of 150 lm/W for commercial products around 2012. In comparison, the efficacy of warm white LEDs (<3500K CCT) in general is reduced by 30% due to the higher ratio of phosphor conversion. Utilisation coefficient Due to their small size LEDs may virtually be considered as point sources,

integrated in one unit or the current control unit is integrated on the PCB. The total efficacy, depending on the quality of the components, varies from 72% to 85% - however excellent integrated power supply/current control units achieve more than 91%. Efficiency of the optical components In general LEDs are used with secondary optics in order to collimate the beam. Good secondary optics have an efficiency of approximately 90% depending on the spread angle. In case the LED unit is protected by a cover glass, another 8% of the luminous flux will be lost by Fresnel reflection at the interfaces between the transparent cover and the surrounding air. Replacement of HID luminaires by LED systems efficacy considerations Two typical South African street lighting luminaires with highly efficient reflector systems were chosen in order to simulate an improved LED distribution, minimising the number of LEDs required to replace the HID solution. The LED distribution is not designed to be integrated into the existing housing: l Beka Lane 70 W SON-T (highpressure sodium) l Beka Strada Supra 250 W SON-T Replacement of a 70 W highpressure sodium lamp
> 2 lx > 0,4 lx

Fig.2: Evolution of LED efficacy in comparison to other light sources.

Fig. 3: Standard modules for the LED constant current supply.

Source Lamp power Lamp flux Total luminaire power Eav Emin U0 W/lx Utilised flux ratio

70 W SON-T 70 W 6600 lm 77 W 5,9 lx 1,3 lx 22 % 13,1 44 %

45 LEDs 3200K 52 W 3600 lm 61 W 5,0 lx 1,2 lx 26 % 12,2 69 %

45 LEDs 6000K 52 W 4800 lm 61 W 6,6 lx 1,6 lx 26 % 9,2 69 %

SANS 10098 B3

Table 1. Simulations and comparisons based on a 70 W SON-T luminaire

LEDs can be collimated precisely and be directed towards the target in a controlled manner. This is different from extended HID sources where generally a significant ratio of light does not hit the target area. Fig. 2 illustrates how, despite a lower luminous flux, the overall lighting efficiency of an LED system can be superior to an HID luminaire. Efficiency of electronic components In order to operate LEDs in a controlled

manner, they have to function in a constant current mode. In general, the electronic components comprise three modules (see Fig. 3): l AC/DC power supply l Constant current source l LEDs mounted on a printed circuit board. Depending on the configuration, the electronic modules can be placed on different units. In order to attain a compact design, the power supply and the constant current source can be
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The simulation was done for a typical residential road with photometric requirements according to SANS 10098 Class B3: l Road width: 7 m + 2 sidewalks (2 m each) to be lit l Pole spacing distance: 45 m l Lamps: SON-T, 70 W in a Beka Lane luminaire LEDs warm white (3200K CCT) 80 lm (70 lm/W@350 mA) LEDs cool white (6000K CCT) 107 lm (93 lm/W@350 mA) Table 1 represents the results of the simulations. Even the warm white LED due to the increased utilisation factor will be able to replace the high-pressure sodium lamp at lower total power consumption. Instead of using 45 cool white LEDs at increased luminous levels, 35 cool white LEDs with a total LED power of 41 W could replace the 70 W HID source.

However this will slightly compromise the uniformity. Replacement of a 250 W highpressure sodium lamp Typically the Beka Strada Supra luminaire with a 250 W SON-T lamp is used on important urban traffic roads according to SANS 10098 Type B3. l Road width: 7 m l Pole spacing distance: 45 m l Lamps: SON-T, 250 W in a Beka Strada Supra luminaire LEDs warm white (3200K CCT) 80 lm (70 lm/W@350 mA) LEDs cool white (6000K CCT) 107 lm (93 lm/W@350 mA) The resulting simulations are shown in Table 2. Obviously the increase of flux ratio of the LED solution cannot compensate for the current gap between the luminous efficacy of the SON-T lamp (128 lm/W). In fact, the assumption of 300 highpower LEDs is only a basis for the simulation. In order to integrate this LED power into a luminaire, the LEDs would have to be operated at higher currents; thus multi-chip LEDs would have to be used. Consequently the efficacy will be even lower. The efficacy threshold for LEDs to replace the 250 W SON-T lamp at the same total electric power will be 100 lm/W; this may slightly decrease in case the efficiency of the electronic components exceeds 85%. Apparently, if we examine the luminous efficacies which are commercially available today, LEDs cannot seriously replace 250 W HPS lamps to achieve comparably efficient luminaire designs. Dubious promises, in general based upon inefficient reference luminaires, often do not take into consideration the reality of road lighting requirements. The comparisons above do not take into account that white light from LEDs will lead to a better colour rendering and in some studies result in a higher acceptance by the residents [1]. They also do not consider the fact that under mesopic vision the eye's sensitivity will be higher for white LEDs, which offer a larger ratio of red and green light compared to HPS light [2]. As soon as these considerations are integrated into national and international standards, this will lead to comparisons much more advantageous for LEDs.

Source Lamp power Lamp flux Total luminaire power Eav [lx] Lmin [cd/m ]
2

250 W SON-T 250 W 32 000 lm 278 W 36,4 0,66/0,67 38,1/37,4 54/58 14 7,6 36 %

300 LEDs 3200K 350 W 24 000 lm 410 W 32,8 0,64/0,65 38,1/37,4 52/54 17 12,5 43 %

225 LEDs 6000K 260 W 24000 lm 305 W 32,8 0,64/0,65 > 40 52/54 17 9,3 43 %

SANS 10098 A3 300 vehicles/h

> 0,6 > 50 > 20

U0 [%] 41,1/40,2 Ul [%] Ti [%] W/lx Utilised flux ratio

Table 2: Simulations and comparisons based on a 250 W SON-T luminaire.

Beka lane SON-T 70 W Total power Lamp replacement cycle Ballast/power supply replacement cycle Total annual utilisation Investment cost Lamp exchange cost Ballast exchange cost Energy cost 77 W 18 000 h 50 000 h 4000 h R1200 R180 R360 R0,50/kWh

LEDs warm white 70 lm/W 61 W 50 000 h 50 000 h 4000 h R9000 R400 R720 R0,50/kWh

LEDS cool white 93 lm/W 48 W 50 000 h 50 000 h 4000 h R8500 R2000 R720 R0,50/kWh

Table 3: Assumptions for a realistic life time cycle cost analysis.

Fig. 4: Cumulative cost SON-T vs. LED realistic scenario.

Life time cycle cost In order to estimate the economic advantage of an LED solution compared to a good HPS solution, some life time cycle cost evaluations were done, which are based on the cost of a luminaire, the
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lamps lifetime, the lamp and ballast/ electronics exchange cost, as well as the cost of energy. The assumptions for the calculation in Fig. 4 are as follows. Under these current assumptions, an LED

Beka Lane SON T 70 W Total power Lamp replacement cycle Ballast/power supply replacement cycle Total annual utilisation Investment cost Lamp exchange cost Ballast exchange cost Energy cost 77 W 18 000 h 50 000 h 4000 h R1200 R180 R360 R1,00/kWh

LEDs cool white 93 lm/W 28 W 50 000 h 70 000 h 4000 h R3000 R1200 R360 R1,00/kWh

Table 4: Assumptions for a future life time cycle cost analysis.

Fig. 6: Bollard combining coloured ambiance lighting with horizontal lighting.

a linear function of the flux whereas the price of HID lamps is virtually independent of their flux. Furthermore their efficacy increases with their total power. For these reasons the life time cycle cost scenario will even be more disadvantageous for LED street lighting luminaires if they are compared to HPS systems beyond 100 W.
Fig. 5: Cumulative cost SON-T vs. LED future scenario.

Outlook public lighting applications dedicated to LEDs Compared to standard static street lighting applications, other applications take even more advantage of the design flexibility and the dynamic control of LEDs. LEDs can combine creating ambiance as well as a photometric function at the same time. The bollard in Fig. 6 illustrates how coloured ambiance lighting unites with functional lighting in order to provide facial recognition, which is an important contribution to pedestrians safety.

solution does not offer any economic advantage. The main reason is the significantly higher investment cost for an LED system; also the efficiency advantage cannot be capitalised due to the low energy cost. Presuming an increase of LED efficacy and reliability, a decrease of the R/lm rate for LEDs and rising energy prices within the next 4 years, the scenario in

Table 4 and Fig. 5 is challenging but not unrealistic. Even in this future scenario the return on investment will occur not before 20 years. Purely economical reasons will not justify the use of LEDs for street lighting. At R1,50/kWh the return on investment will be reduced to 10 years. The LED cost per flux unit is almost

Fig. 7: LED tunnel application and according beam shape.

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Fig. 8: Typical intensity distribution for a parapet lighting application.

Fig. 11: Street lighting luminaire with individually controllable LED arrays. Fig. 9: Dynamic adjustment of the light distribution to the humidity of the road.

Conclusion LEDs doubtless will penetrate the public lighting market. Indeed, in order to benefit from their advantages they have to be integrated into concepts, which use these benefits by creating particular photometry, offering dynamic or adaptive lighting or profit from the colours offered by LEDs. Whether LEDs will become an economic solution for static street lighting considerably depends on the energy cost level. At the current electricity cost in South Africa, LED street lights will not have any advantage concerning the total cost of ownership. References
[1] Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Application Assessment Report #0714, January 2008, pages 15 to 16. [2] Eloholma M Halonen L Performance based model for mesopic photometry. HUT Lighting Loboratory, Report 35, 2005.

Fig. 10: Photometry adjusted to the ageing of the road.

In tunnel lighting applications LEDs can yield an asymmetric beam, which compared to 36 W PLL lamps potentially increases the luminance efficacy. First installations provide an indication that the yield of the luminance will exceed 35% when using LEDs at 85 lm/W. Consequently, LEDs will be used in parapet lighting solutions, where the luminaires will be mounted at a height of approximately 1 m, and thanks to a very flat beam profile lead to efficient illumination. Dynamic LED applications potentially allow the dynamic adaptation of the light distribution to ambient conditions. The light distribution can be modified according to changes in road surface reflection properties. A good light distribution on a dry surface very often becomes bad or unacceptable on a wet surface: a too bright zone (area) appears in the middle of the road, leading to a too high value of the average luminance and reducing dramatically the longitudinal and overall uniformities. LEDs in a luminaire system can be dimmed partially in order to create a more acceptable luminance distribution on the surface as illustrated in Fig. 9.

Accordingly the light distribution can be adapted to the specular property of the asphalt, which generally becomes more reflective during the use of the road. Fig. 10 indicates the potential adaptation. A potential luminaire geometry with individually controllable LED units is presented in Fig. 11.

Contact Johann Schleritzko, Beka, Tel 011 238-0000, schleritzkoj@beka.co.za D

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