Taiwan to replace all traffic lights to LEDs within three years
Have you ever stopped to consider just how many traffic signals there must be in the world? I have no idea, but I know it has got to be a huge number. You are probably aware that CFL light bulbs, those funky twisty ones, use less energy than incandescent bulbs; you may also know that LED's, or light emitting diodes, are even better. Best of all, they last a very long time, meaning that fewer would need to be manufactured in the first place. Perhaps that's why they are not as well marketed, huh? Anyway, Taiwan is taking down all of the normal old traffic lights and replacing them with LED units. They are expecting to use 85 percent less power once the remaining 420,000 lights are replaced. According to our source article, 350,000 have already been taken care of.
Read through the comments at Engadget here. It seems that many areas have already taken steps to replace their bulbs with LEDs when they burn out. I have seen a few of them around Toledo where I live, but there are still the older type here and there. How about where you live?
[Source: Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Earblast 11:05PM (7/05/2007)
I live here in Chicago and I think they've all been replaced with LED. At least in my neck of the woods.
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Gordio 8:38PM (7/06/2007)
Why is that picture of a Swedish light? I thought in US theyr'e mostly LEDs? (I live in Cali, so I might have the wrong impression what the country uses).
IN SF, the halogen street lamps are becoming super day-white fluorescent. I heard in NY, they're going a step further using LEDs, altho this must be expensive and they're not that strong unless u cluster a lot of LEDs.
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Chris 2:10AM (7/06/2007)
In Fort Collins, Colorado, virtually all the traffic lights are LED.
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Peter 3:24AM (7/06/2007)
I'll admit this is a step in the right direction, but these are already lights that are only bright enough to be luminous, not enough to illuminate - between each traffic light are 10 street lights lighting up the sidewalk that are each using many times as much energy as the traffic light. LED replacements for these would be pricey, but the dollar-to-lumen ratio is still low enough to pay for itself during the lifetime of the fixture (especially when you factor in the labor required to replace the traditional mercury-vapor streetlights). Streetlights not traffic-lights!
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Manu Sharma 3:25AM (7/06/2007)
In New Delhi India, things are moving a step further as *solar powered* LED traffic lights are being tried out.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6697996.cms
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Karkus 12:02PM (7/06/2007)
The problem with going to LED for street lights is that white LED are way less efficient than the colored ones they can use for the traffic lights.
A quick check of Wiki reveals that streetlights are already way more efficient than incandescents, and they are going towards even higher efficiency Sodium vapor and metal halide lighting.
However, I'd be happy with less street lighting all around - that's the best way to save energy - plus it improves safety by not screwing up people's night vision as much.
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James Smith 9:16PM (7/11/2007)
All of New York City uses LED traffic signals and pedestrian crossing signals.
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