Best LED Group Town of Smithtown Article

All technologies provide less light output over time, but light-emitting diodes (LED) depreciate much more slowly compared to incumbent technologies.

And unlike previous technologies, LED vendors have a greater impact on the rate of lumen depreciation based on luminaire design. So in addition to an application-based lighting design, a cost/benefit analysis should always include an appropriate lumen maintenance factor that helps predict depreciation.

BetaLED's “Recommended Lumen Maintenance Factors (TD-13)” guides customers through the process of determining what lumen maintenance value to use based on desired hours of operation (application life), ambient temperature, drive current, and region of the country. Based on data from the company's LED supplier, Cree Inc. of Durham, N.C., and available for free at www.betaled.com, the six-page document presents information a manufacturer should be able to provide to help you decide on the best configuration for a particular application. Distributor Best LED Group in Hauppauge, N.Y., developed the chart comparing BetaLED's LEDway luminaires to the existing system in Smithtown, N.Y.

Figures don't include maintenance-related savings, which the company estimated at $75,000 annually for every 1,000 streetlights converted to LED.

The LED luminaire has a projected service life of at least 15 years with no maintenance. HPS maintenance costs include lens cleaning, buying and stocking ballasts for different voltages and types, hazardous waste stream costs related to the mercury content of HPS bulbs, and replacing HPS bulbs every 20,000 hours.