september 2011
Welcome to LightSavers,the e-newsletter produced by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund's Lightsavers Program for people interested in outdoor LED and advanced lighting technologies. Please feel free to
We are very grateful for support received for this program from Natural Resources Canada and the Ontario Power Authority’s Technology Fund in partnership with the CEATI Outdoor Lighting Working Group.
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Assessing LED performance in Hamilton
The City of Hamilton was an early adopter of LED streetlighting, launching a pilot of this new technology in cooperation with LightSavers in 2009. The project has taught us a great deal: First we learned that LED streetlights can meet North American standards for roadway illumination. Despite going from 130 watt HPS fixtures down to 59 Watt LEDs, illuminance levels on the road actually increased by about 50%, well above required levels. The second finding was a bit more of the good news, bad news variety. First the bad news: After about a year in the field, all four pilot fixtures were damaged by what is believed to have been a significant power surge event. This exposed what had been a sleeper issue with LED lights: the electronics that drive LEDs are much more vulnerable to power surges than the older, less efficient technologies. Now the good news: Manufacturer LED Roadway Lighting immediately replaced all four fixtures with their next generation of fixtures that incorporate significantly improved surge protection and field replaceable surge protection units. Click here for the full pilot findings report.
LEDs go mainstreet
Nearly everyone in the street lighting business agrees that LEDs will eventually be the technology of choice for illuminating our streets. With over 3 million street lights in Canada, the potential for energy savings is enormous. Municipalities and utilities across Canada have been engaging in pilot testing and demonstration projects to evaluate the technology — including in Toronto through Toronto Hydro’s ALAMP program.
Now, a number of jurisdictions are on the cusp of moving ahead with larger-scale deployments. The City of Mississauga, for example, has just closed a Request for Pre-Qualifications for LED streetlights. Mississauga, which has been a participant in LightSavers, owns and operates approximately 45,000 High Pressure Sodium streetlights, and is seriously considering converting the majority of these lights to LEDs. Meanwhile, the City of Edmonton has ordered 2,580 Satellite LED luminaries from LED Roadway Lighting for a mixed project of replacement and new roadway lighting. According to LEDs Magazine, “The city projects that the SSL project will deliver $2.6 million in energy savings over the expected 20 year life of the luminaires. The projection is based on 51% savings over the high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures that are currently in use. Over the 20 year period, the city projects a reduction of 12,880 tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover the aggregate electricity savings total 16,000,000 kWh.”
Streetlighting conference presentations available
Presentations from the Canadian Street Lighting Conference held in Toronto last March are posted on the LightSavers website. A number of the presentations are available in French and English. It's well worth reviewing the excellent information presented at this conference, which was made possible by support from Natural Resources Canada and the Ontario Power Authority and organized by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund.
Cree acquires Ruud Lighting
Cree Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of light emitting diodes, has acquired Ruud Lighting, one of the leading manufacturers of LED street and area lighting fixtures. Ruud Lighting has been an active participant in the Lightsavers program, and their fixtures have been tested in several of our pilots (including in Caledon, Mississauga, and Toronto Community Housing). This is the latest — and most dramatic — development in an ongoing trend towards vertical consolidation in the LED lighting industry. With this move, the three largest high-brightness LED makers (Cree, Philips, and Osram) all now have their own lines of LED street and area lighting fixtures. It will be interesting to see if this consolidation leads to an ever faster decrease in the cost of LED fixtures.
How to reach us:
Bryan Purcell
Program Manager
bpurcell@tafund.org
416-393-6358
Mary Pickering
Program Director
mpickering@tafund.org
416-392-1217
www.lightsavers.ca
