Brass: LED lights growing in Knoxville
Knoxville's nights could go from orange to white if tests of new LED fixtures now dotting the landscape prove the new technology's muster.
LED streetlights are beginning to mark the Knoxville horizon with their white glow.
Thirty new LED fixtures were recently installed on Blount Avenue and in the Cityview development along the South Knoxville waterfront. It's the second of three test LED installations planned by the city and KUB as they continue to move toward greener lighting.Most conventional downlights use a standard 65-watt incandescent compact fluorescent lights and are run on a switch that typically contains several downlights. For this example we'll say there are a total of six lights on a switch. Demand for LED, or light-emitting diode, technology is growing for municipalities with their promise of a bulb life of five to 10 years compared to the usual two- to three-year lifespan for traditional outdoor light fixtures.
One year ago, the city and KUB — in partnership with TVA and the Electric Power Research Institute — installed 12 lamps along Wall Avenue as part of a broader project to test a variety of LED products offered by competitors that have sprung up across the nation, aiming to tap the growing LED market. The next installation will be eight streetlights along Market Street, where existing sidewalks and streetlights will be torn up to make room for new ones, according to Gabriel Bolas, manager of the engineering systems group at KUB.
'For the last couple of years LEDs have kind of become the hot thing because they last longer, and they do save energy,Larger kitchens may require one or more ceiling fixtures positioned in the center of the room. Additional perimeter fluorescent bulbs squares or rectangles of lights placed near the walls should be installed for added illumination. These can be in the form of recessed downlight or track lighting. On the other hand, small kitchens may require only either two or three ceiling mounted fixtures or downlight placed near the walls.' Bolas said. 'The manufacturers tell you all this crazy stuff, but we just want to prove it in the field for a while.Enter the LED downlight, one of the best led bulb solutions available and a prime example of how LED lighting is going to revolutionize the lighting industry. … Public safety is what it comes down to. It's a big deal for us to make this change.'
More communities such as Knoxville are starting to dabble in LED, according to Jack O'Hanlon, whose company the O'Hanlon Group sold the fixtures for the waterfront development.
'There's a lot of people who are embracing this in different parts of the country, and there's a lot of people saying, ‘Let's wait a little bit,' ' he said. 'LED has become incredibly practical, and the cost has come down and will continue to come down.'
LED has been more quickly adopted in retail and commercial settings in recent years, but Knoxville is one of a handful of cities across the country launching LED initiatives for streetlight applications, according to Bolas.
'Costs are a big factor, no doubt about it,' he said. Knoxville is home to approximately 30,000 streetlights, and LEDs cost two to three times as much as traditional high-pressure sodium fixtures with their signature orange glow.The Led strip light will concentrate its light downwards into the room and has the capability to shine as broadly as a floodlight or as narrowly as a spot light, the choice is really yours.Our Phillips railabc, aside saving you money on electricity bills (is 6 to 8 times more efficient than your standard incandescent bulbs), can also generate various colors of light.
But, Bolas said, 'the bigger thing for us is that this survives the conditions of the streets. … We know what an incandescent bulb does. (LED is) just a different animal.'
For example, LEDs don't burn out immediately but degrade over time, and the utility will need to learn at what point they're no longer doing the job and need to be replaced.
In order for the new technology to pay off at current prices with reduced maintenance and energy costs, the bulbs must last about five years, he said. But the city and KUB likely would only wait another year — 'two years tops,' Bolas said — to begin replacing Knoxville's current streetlights with LEDs.
'The technology is getting more sophisticated every day,' he said. 'These companies are getting extremely mature with the product really fast. … Every time we look at them, they come down (in price) a little more.'
Larisa Brass is a regular contributor to the News Sentinel.
Knoxville's nights could go from orange to white if tests of new LED fixtures now dotting the landscape prove the new technology's muster.
LED streetlights are beginning to mark the Knoxville horizon with their white glow.
Thirty new LED fixtures were recently installed on Blount Avenue and in the Cityview development along the South Knoxville waterfront. It's the second of three test LED installations planned by the city and KUB as they continue to move toward greener lighting.Most conventional downlights use a standard 65-watt incandescent compact fluorescent lights and are run on a switch that typically contains several downlights. For this example we'll say there are a total of six lights on a switch. Demand for LED, or light-emitting diode, technology is growing for municipalities with their promise of a bulb life of five to 10 years compared to the usual two- to three-year lifespan for traditional outdoor light fixtures.
One year ago, the city and KUB — in partnership with TVA and the Electric Power Research Institute — installed 12 lamps along Wall Avenue as part of a broader project to test a variety of LED products offered by competitors that have sprung up across the nation, aiming to tap the growing LED market. The next installation will be eight streetlights along Market Street, where existing sidewalks and streetlights will be torn up to make room for new ones, according to Gabriel Bolas, manager of the engineering systems group at KUB.
'For the last couple of years LEDs have kind of become the hot thing because they last longer, and they do save energy,Larger kitchens may require one or more ceiling fixtures positioned in the center of the room. Additional perimeter fluorescent bulbs squares or rectangles of lights placed near the walls should be installed for added illumination. These can be in the form of recessed downlight or track lighting. On the other hand, small kitchens may require only either two or three ceiling mounted fixtures or downlight placed near the walls.' Bolas said. 'The manufacturers tell you all this crazy stuff, but we just want to prove it in the field for a while.Enter the LED downlight, one of the best led bulb solutions available and a prime example of how LED lighting is going to revolutionize the lighting industry. … Public safety is what it comes down to. It's a big deal for us to make this change.'
More communities such as Knoxville are starting to dabble in LED, according to Jack O'Hanlon, whose company the O'Hanlon Group sold the fixtures for the waterfront development.
'There's a lot of people who are embracing this in different parts of the country, and there's a lot of people saying, ‘Let's wait a little bit,' ' he said. 'LED has become incredibly practical, and the cost has come down and will continue to come down.'
LED has been more quickly adopted in retail and commercial settings in recent years, but Knoxville is one of a handful of cities across the country launching LED initiatives for streetlight applications, according to Bolas.
'Costs are a big factor, no doubt about it,' he said. Knoxville is home to approximately 30,000 streetlights, and LEDs cost two to three times as much as traditional high-pressure sodium fixtures with their signature orange glow.The Led strip light will concentrate its light downwards into the room and has the capability to shine as broadly as a floodlight or as narrowly as a spot light, the choice is really yours.Our Phillips railabc, aside saving you money on electricity bills (is 6 to 8 times more efficient than your standard incandescent bulbs), can also generate various colors of light.
But, Bolas said, 'the bigger thing for us is that this survives the conditions of the streets. … We know what an incandescent bulb does. (LED is) just a different animal.'
For example, LEDs don't burn out immediately but degrade over time, and the utility will need to learn at what point they're no longer doing the job and need to be replaced.
In order for the new technology to pay off at current prices with reduced maintenance and energy costs, the bulbs must last about five years, he said. But the city and KUB likely would only wait another year — 'two years tops,' Bolas said — to begin replacing Knoxville's current streetlights with LEDs.
'The technology is getting more sophisticated every day,' he said. 'These companies are getting extremely mature with the product really fast. … Every time we look at them, they come down (in price) a little more.'
Larisa Brass is a regular contributor to the News Sentinel.
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