A Profitable, Green Friendly, Crime Fighting Partnership
Introduction:
Induction Lighting is a fluorescent light source without electrodes. Inside of linear T8 fluorescent lamps (and even compact fluorescent lamps) there are wire electrodes that supply the electricity that facilitates the flow of electrons that create the light. Induction light sources use magnets on the outside of the fluorescent tube rather than the metal electrodes on the inside. Why is this better? Electrodes wear out over time and thus determine the life of a fluorescent light.
Without the electrodes dictating the life span of a fluorescent light, the only thing that keeps an induction light source from lasting forever is the very slow degradation of the phosphors on the inside the tube. Even with this slow phosphor degradation, induction lights have a 100,000 hours life span and maintain 70% of the initial lumen output 70,000hrs. At 12 hours a day usage, induction light sources will last more than 20 years.
High-Pressure Sodium Street Lights:
Most cities today use High Pressure Sodium light sources (HPS) because it has had the longest life of any available high wattage light source prior to Induction Lighting, about 20,000 hours. The initial lumens per watt ratio of HPS is decent (about 110 lumens per watt) but that drops over the life of the light. However, that is not the biggest draw back of HPS light sources.
Color-Rendering Index:
The Color Rendering Index (or CRI) is a scale that measures the quality of light emitted by a light source which in turn dictates how well we see colors, textures, and even movement in that light. The higher the CRI, the brighter we perceive the illuminated environment. The CRI scale is 0-100 where Sun Light is 100 CRI and Incandescent light bulbs are 95 CRI. High pressure Sodium lights have the lowest CRI of any commercially available light sources at only 22 CRI.
Induction Lights have a CRI of 84, actually 2 points higher than the fluorescent tubes used in office space.
Color Temperature:
The Kelvin Scale (K) measures the color of light emitted by a light source. The warm light from an incandescent light bulb that we are all used to is about 2750K. Sunlight at Noon is about 4600 K. The higher the Kelvin Temperature the cooler the light will be. Cooler light is perceived brighter by the human eye. High Pressure Sodium lights have the lowest Kelvin Temp of all high wattage light sources, about 2100K. The result of that low Kelvin Temp is the yellow/orange light we see under all of our street lights.
Induction Lights can be manufactured at any Kelvin Temp but are typically used in either the cooler 4100 and 5000K Temp for better visibility.
How Do Induction Lights Save Money:
Due to the superior light quality and lumen maintenance of Induction Light sources, we can for example replace 250W HPS street lights with 150W Induction street lights, 150W HPS with 100W Induction. The decrease in usage speaks for itself, 50 to 100W per pole at 4300 hours a year adds up fast. Using 100,000 Hour Induction Lights versus the standard 20,000 HPS reduces the maintenance costs by 80%(for cities that replace their own lights).
Environmentally Friendly Lights:
Induction lighting is also very environmentally friendly. Here are a few examples:
a. The standard High Pressure Sodium street lights most cities are using are difficult to dispose of because the mercury levels within the fixture are never confined to a single location. When a light shuts off, the mercury continues to flow throughout the entire light. With induction lighting, the mercury is stored in a very small, thumbnail-sized compartment that can be easily clipped off and thrown away.
b. Induction street lights are burning 30-50% LESS electricity that the standard HPS light which is aids in carbon reduction.
c. Neptun, the maker of induction lighting, also manufactures compact florescent light bulbs that save over 75% on electricity.
d. There is an official EPA calculator to illustrate the totals of how many pounds of carbon the city is no longer putting into the atmosphere, how many cars the city has taken off the road, and how many acres of forests the city is planting from simply purchasing and installing induction lights.
Better, Brighter Lighting = Less Crime
More and more cities throughout the U.S. (in an effort to prevent crime, urban decay, and a myriad of other problems) have increased the number and brightness of lights, especially in high-profile, downtown areas.
If you travel to any of the nations urban hot-spots (Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, New York’s West Village, Indianapolis’ Market Square, etc.), you will find that an emphasis has been placed on the quality and number of lights that illuminates these areas.
Richard Florida (author of “Rise of the Creative Class” and Carnegie Melon economics professor) has done quite a bit of research on the topic. He feels that in order to have a defined, revenue-generating, downtown, you must have bright light- and a lot of it.
Other cities, such as Elgin, IL, are launching “porch light campaigns,” urging citizens to leave their porch light on the entire night. Why? Light pushes away evil. If you increase the brightness of an area at night, you are also decreasing the dark areas (which will give crime less room to work).
- Electricity savings (between 30-50% for streetlights and 75% for compact florescent)
- 90% savings on maintenance cost
- Guaranteed lifespan of 100,000 hours / 20+ years (average high pressure sodium lights only last 2 – 4 years).
- Clear, illuminating “white light” instead of the usual “yellow” HPS bulbs currently used by most cities.
- Neptun manufactures all of their lamps and ballasts
- Neptun makes many different styles of induction lights (cobra head street lights, parking lot/parking garage lights, -decorative acorn lamp lights, etc.).
- LLP Design (Low Light Pollution)
- Heat and impact resistant glass lens
- InstantOn ™ flicker-free Cold-Start and Hot-Start
- Correlated Color Temperature of 5000° degrees K for greater visibility
- Concealed continuous gasket seals against harmful dust, dirt, insects, and moisture
- Advanced phosphors for high lumen maintenance and high lumen output
- Upon request we can provide calculations Neptun ran for the city of Chicago, IL. Based on the official Environmental Protection Agency calculator, by installing Neptun lights and letting them run for the guaranteed 100,000 hours, the City of Chicago could do the following:
- Remove 3.4 billion pounds of carbon from the earth’s atmosphere
- Reduce air pollution by the equivalent of removing 3 million cars from the road
- Reduce air pollution by the equivalent of planting 4.7 million acres of forest
Copyright 2007-2009 NEPTUN Light, Inc. NEPTUN Light, Inc.
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