LED modules bring energy savings to high-mast outdoor lighting
We routinely cover case studies of LEDs used in outdoor, street- and area-lighting applications where solid-state lighting (SSL) is delivering significant savings in both energy and maintenance costs. But repeatedly at conferences the prevailing wisdom among speakers has been that the high lumen output required in high-mast applications would require SSL fixtures that cost far more than metal-halide (MH) or high-pressure sodium (HPS) sources – an even greater cost differential than is the case with normal street lights. Presumably the high cost can stretch the payback beyond what municipalities or transportation departments are comfortable with. The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), however, is testing LED-based lights in a high-mast retrofit and the results are promising.
High-mast lights are quite different in nature from more typical street or roadway lights. High-mast fixtures are regularly mounted at 60 ft to more than 100 ft above ground level and occasionally as high as 250 ft. Normal street lights are typically mounted at heights lower than 60 ft, and many are in the 30-ft range.