By Swagato Chakravorty
GE Lighting, part of General Electric (NYSE: GE), continues to light up bridges with LED lighting, recently outfitting both the Wanganui City Bridge in New Zealand and the Moulay el Hassan Bridge in Rabat, Morocco.
The Wanganui project, helmed by Sydney-based engineering firm Evolve NZ Ltd., used GE’s 80W R150 LED lamps. Altogether, the 14 fittings placed on the bridge represent lifetime cost savings of roughly $7,400 for the Wanganui District Council.
Wanganui used to have conventional sodium lights. Once replaced with GE LEDs, power consumption per bulb was reduced to 80W from 165W.
With the new bulbs, there is no extraneous (that is, wasted) light leaking upward. Instead the LEDs feature directed lighting.
And the purer white light produced by the LEDs is not only more aesthetically pleasing but also makes for better color rendering, a factor that helps traffic and security cameras as well as night drivers.
Plus, LEDs outlast sodium lights by a factor of 3 to 4.
Evolve General Manager John Birks said in the press release:
“The white LED light makes for a more modern and vibrant atmosphere in the night space, where it is easier to see the real colors of life. We are expecting that this type of lighting will bring more people out to enjoy the city where we live.”
The Wanganui District Council will incrementally replace conventional fittings with GE LEDs as needed.
The Moroccan Rabat bridge project, managed by SGTM (Morocco), used GE’s Iberia LED lights.
In its effort to install lighting, SGTM required low ongoing maintenance costs, a household brand name, and of course good design, which they found in GE Lighting.
The bridge uses 72 Iberia LEDs, set at an elevation of 11 meters.
Ana Cantero, GE Product Manager Outdoor Fittings EMEA, said in a press release:
“The elegant design of the Iberia LED, together with its advanced optical system, makes this luminaire the ideal solution for illuminating this bridge. GE Lighting has achieved the environmental friendliness objective pursued by the lighting project for the bridge.”
Much like the New Zealand project, the LEDs used in Rabat feature a ‘whiter’ white light throw, long lifetimes, and accurate color rendition.
Altogether, they make for huge cost savings as far as public lighting is concerned. Public works projects around the world increasingly look toward LED lighting as they consider its extraordinary benefits over conventional solutions.
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