Energy efficient LED lighting solutions for reduced cost and improved road safety

Lars Bylund, Pelk Design Group, Sweden

Keywords

traffic safety, road guidance, road lighting, bad weather conditions, rain, snowfall, fog, night time driving, maintenance costs, LEDs, light-emitting diodes, poles, bollards, Sweden, Gävle-Sandviken, National Road Administration

Abstract

In two pilot road lighting projects, alternative solutions for lighting of road junctions and roads were tested. The primary aim was to try a radically new concept for improving road safety while the total energy and maintenance-related ownership costs for the Swedish road administration were to be reduced.

The primary technology employed consisted of poles equipped with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that served to guide the traffic rather than to illuminate the road surface. In many cases the standard overhead lighting was completely removed, or drastically reduced. Especially in bad weather conditions such as snow, heavy rain, or fog, the visual conditions for drivers were improved. In one pilot project in the area of Sandviken/Gävle, the energy consumption was reduced by 75-80 percent with the new solution. An evaluation performed by the Gävle/Sandviken University has shown a very high acceptance among drivers.

Since the system was installed (more than two years ago), no accidents have been reported from the test area. This is to be compared against a normal car accident frequency of about one accident a month prior to the new installation.

The National Swedish Road Administration in the Mid-Sweden district regards this technology, and the application of the technology, so promising that the system is now being applied along four additional road stretches which are currently experiencing many accidents. Photovoltaic (PV)-powered modules are also being tested and evaluated along one road stretch.

The Swedish National Energy Administration sponsored two pilot projects, but the National Road Administration is now implementing the system on its own merits.