LED lights capture the public space

Lighting: Interchangeable modules in the new lamp heads and heat dissipation make the technology more and more to the competition of metal high-pressure lamps, which accounted for so far in many parts of the street lighting.

Only a year ago While LED lamps were in the living area as a trendsetter, but for the lighting of paths and roads as not bright enough. That has changed dramatically thanks to new concepts and also the promotion of public funds.

The light-emitting diodes are regarded as highly energy efficient, easily controllable, durable and low maintenance - and, more recently, technically mature for use in urban lighting.

Has been completed since last year, the nationwide competition "Municipalities in a new light" of the Federal Research Ministry and the announcement of ten winners, see Peter Ziegler, Chief Financial Officer of Hess from Villingen-Schwenningen, the technology finally to the triumph. The company has agreed with four of the municipalities, which total flow to a grant of € 20 million, the realization of large projects for city lighting, including in the eastern Saxony cities Goerlitz and Löbau, where Hess over the past ten years, a modern manufacturing facility with 100 employees has built up.

In addition to other cities such as Freiburg make many small communities adopt the change and to work on new projects of conventional systems - although the price of pure lamp head is still about twice as expensive. As soon as ice and snow are gone, wants Sven Gabriel, the mayor of the municipality in Saxony Kirschau, start building new area lighting. "We are replacing 350 light points, of which about 120 will be equipped with LED", the local chief says of the project, for which € 250 000 are provided. The energy consumption is reduced by 52% according to plan, so the return on investment - thanks to government subsidies - after only eight to ten years.

Goes back to Gabriel at the suitable places, despite higher investment costs for LED technology, for him is perfectly logical: "The new lighting will be decades in operation, since we focus on the latest and not in what has become obsolete in a few years "he says. In addition, the extra cost of the lighting heads falls, given the cost of the overall project much less impact - for the benefit of lower maintenance costs to be several decades.

The Hess has worked intensively in recent years due mainly to the problem of heat dissipation of the LED and the modularization, it was also heavily involved specifically established for this technological development Dresden-based start-up companies Light Design Solutions. "We have managed to shrink to very elaborate cooling significantly," says Ziegler. "We can offer our customers a system in which exchange is similar to the conventional light bulb, standard LED lamp unit in the head when needed can be."

Although the lifetime of a unit is 000 hours with 50 to 70 000 h in such a range that will be hardly necessary, but these lamps is also a possible future technological leap easier to retrofit. Because the light unit, which is just as easy as changing a light bulb to costs, compared to the cooling, the reflectors or the control comparatively little money.

Other cities such as Leipzig, are the LED mainly for cost reasons, still face skepticism. "We have now converted 92% of all lamps on high pressure sodium systems in terms of efficiency and are very happy with it," said Hartmut Erdmann, Acting Head of city lights. However, we observe the rapid development of the LED "with great interest."

In Saxon Löbau, where the Hess has been the biggest part of the series production is concentrated, the proportion of LED lights already in production for about 15% and will increase significantly this year already. For the first half of 2000 about LED modules are in the order books.

Particularly well the lights are rated at 33 W to 60 W to date for street spaces that do not require any exceptional luminance, while large streets and squares probably continue to be a metal or a domain of high-pressure systems.

Still not completely solved the problem of light colors is: The highest efficiency LEDs provide white with a blue light of about 4000 K. However, there are already LED spots for architectural lighting, is also working intensively on warmer colors of light. In five years, according to estimates by Ziegler, the proportion of new LED lighting systems at 35% to 40% will lie.

Peter Ziegler wants more courage in the German town halls. "It is often maintained enough have accumulated to the other's experience," he said and assured that they would gather in each town a good experience if you start an appropriate road space as a pilot project, convert and thereby also the opinion of the population with inclusive. Profitability also speak of how to enrich the cityscape.

The potential for the renewal of public lighting is huge everywhere. At least a third of all lights are worn out of date, and waste stream, says Ziegler. But whether the local authorities will invest more than average, given the difficult financial situation due to the crisis in 2011 calculated the future is still not clear. After all, came in early December, once a major contract from Qatar via additional € 21 million to Hess. This will allow the company to increase significantly now at about 55% export share of lying.

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