LED LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

Advancements in Technology Offer Energy Savings, Limit Light Pollution and Reduce Maintenance Costs

by Gail Greet Hannah for Landscape Forms


LED lighting technology continues to make rapid advances in energy efficiency, color and color rendering. As they continue to be developed and refined, it is clear that LED’s are poised to make significant contributions to energy savings, carbon footprint reductions and environmental initiatives targeted at limiting light pollution and enhancing human health.

Landscape Forms is collaborating with award-winning lighting consultants, Clanton & Associates, to pursue innovative solutions for new lighting products that use LED’s as the light source. Our commitment to LED technology is consistent with our goal to address the needs of our customers while becoming a more environmentally sustainable company. We believe that others in the design community can benefit from what we have learned.

Why LED?

The U.S. Department of Energy sums it up in its announcement of major investments in Solid-State lighting research and development:

“… Solid-state lighting (which includes LED) has the potential to more than double the efficiency of lighting systems, significantly reduce our carbon footprint and transform the built environment… (It is part of) a comprehensive strategy to meet our furniture energy needs in a way that encourages economic growth, enhances energy security and addresses the serious challenge of global climate change.”

What’s an LED?

An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a diode consisting of semi-conducting material through which current flows from one side (p-anode) to the other (n-cathode), releasing energy in the form of a photon. LED’s are very small and can be readily printed onto circuit boards. The efficacy (light output per unit of power input) of LED’s has increased exponentially since the first practical application of visible-spectrum LED’s in the early 1960’s. And the range of available color has dramatically increased.

LED’s can get their power from conventional wiring or from solar power. Landscape Forms provides LED lighting of both types.

Landscape Forms Wired and Solar-Powered LED Solutions

Wired-in LED lighting is offered in marker/wayfinding products such as bollards as well as in pedestrian, pathway and area lighting where measurable illumination is required. These light fixtures draw their power from the grid like other conventional lights but, unlike other lights, offer the exceptional efficiency, longevity and other advantages of LED’s listed below. They require access to electrical infrastructure – a condition typically present in a majority of the outdoor environments for which lighting products are specified.

Solar-powered LED lighting is offered in Annapolis bollards and Kaleidoscope transit shelters. The LED luminaires in these products draw their power from photovoltaic cells and batteries that absorb and store energy from the sun. We call these “Smart Bollards” and “Smart Shelters” to describe their use of solar “Smart Technology.”

Solar-powered LED lighting is an excellent solution for remote areas (on the ocean, in the desert) where access to the grid is not available; in situations where installing wiring would require a major investment; and where emergency conditions and security concerns require uninterrupted service in the event of grid failure. In a blackout, solar-powered LED lighting continues to perform. Replaceable storage batteries are long lived and LED’s can last up to 15 years.

Currently, solar-powered LED lighting is being used for a variety of applications where reliability, safety and security are key. Roadway lighting provides 24-hour beacons, programmable school zone flashers, and construction hazard markers. Industrial worksite applications include warehouse lighting and railway, bridge and other site hazard marking. And solar-powered LED lighting is being used to enhance visibility and security in urban transit systems as part of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), a multidisciplinary approach to reducing crime and the fear of crime through redesign of the environment.

All LED’s, wired and solar-powered, have the following advantages:

Energy Efficiency
LED’s, are extremely energy efficient. Today’s high-performance LED’s produce @90 lumens per watt (90 lm/W) in comparison to @15 lm/W for conventional 60-100 watt incandescent bulbs.

Long Life
LED’s have a lifespan of 60,000 to 100,000 + hours. (The typical incandescent bulb lasts from 1,000 to 3,000 hours and the typical fluorescent from 10,000 to 15,000 hours.)

Light Pollution and Trespass
LED’s provide focused light with no waste or “spill.” Due to the directional nature of LED light, it is easier to put light where it is needed and avoid light pollution and trespass.

Longevity and Reduced Maintenance
LED’s dim over time, they do not abruptly burn out, allowing scheduled rather than emergency replacement. As LED’s do not have catastrophic failure, LED lifespan is defined as 70% of original output. These facts, combined with LED’s lifespan translates into reduced maintenance costs.

On-Off/Cycling
LED’s light up with no “re-strike” time; they do not burn out quickly when recycled frequently like fluorescents; and do not required a long time to re-start like HID lamps.

Damage and Vibration Resistance
LED’s are difficult to damage due to their solid-state construction, and contain no filament or glass.

Non-Toxic
As LED’s are solid state, they emit no gasses and unlike fluorescent lights, do not contain mercury.


Luminaire Maintenance

LED lighting contains multiple LED’s organized into arrays. The number and organization of LED’s in a package, the efficiency of the “driver” (transformer) that provides the energy, and the characteristics of the fixture determine the amount and quality of illumination. LED’s generate heat and successful “heat sinking” (dissipation of heat build-up) prolongs longevity. The design and engineering of the luminaire are critical to LED function and long life. These are areas where Landscape Forms excels.

Our engineering team has become very sophisticated in its understanding of LED technology and applications. It is continuously testing new products and designing elements that take advantage of new technology to optimize the lighting in our products. Landscape Forms LED lighting products feature light packages and fixtures that provide the appropriate amount of light for the application, offer excellent performance and longevity, embody the quality design our customers expect, and take an innovative approach to the color of LED lights used in outdoor environments.