Comments on: The Evolution of Street Lighting in Raleigh

By: RaleighRob

RaleighRob — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:16:19 +0000

What I’d like to see the city do next would be to upgrade some existing light fixtures. The blocks of Hillsborough Street from Glenwood to the Capital have nice looking Victorian-style street lamps that are very appropriate for the area….BUT they are way too dim! Could the city work with Cree to upgrade those lampposts to a brighter LED bulb while still keeping the same style fixture?

By: Eric Lamb

Eric Lamb — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:17:09 +0000

John:

Thanks for this overview of the City’s lighting program. To see our LED streetlight pilot projects so far, check out the lighting in these locations:
+ Davie Street, from Wilmington to Blount
+ RCC Block (Salisbury, Cabarrus, Lenoir, and Wilmington Streets)
+ Hillsborough Street, from Gardner to Oberlin (under construction)

By: James

James — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:41:53 +0000

Thank you for the informative article. Lighting is one of those topics that many people will never even scratch the surface of, but it will have such a significant impact on their everyday lives. Those of us who appreciate cities with a vibrant night life notice these types of things.

One of my initial impressions when I moved to Raleigh was shock of how dark the city is at night and that they still had such poor lighting infrastructure along Hillsborough street, which is thankfully being addressed. It’s a positive sign to see the City of Raleigh being innovative and thinking ahead on this issue as well as supporting a local business.

By: Michael R

Michael R — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:10:44 +0000

A bit of trivia: The remains of an old gas plant were discovered during the excavations of ground for the construction of the convention center. A substantial reservoir of coal tar was found, and had to be removed from the site. The coal tar was either a by-product or the source fuel for the gas, depending on what process was used. This was called “coal gas”, “town gas”, or “illumination gas”.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:42:40 +0000

Nice article, great photos.

It should be noted that light pollution is not a product of just sodium vapor, but of all light sources to some extent, and most particularly depends on how they are directed. I like the idea of LED lighting for indoor applications, and the fact that most LED fixtures I have seen are full-cutoff, I fear that a growing trend of “more light” will negate the potential reduction in light pollution. Full cutoff is only one aspect, but a distrubring trend I have seen is the increasing the lumen density of lighting installations. I have seen, many gas stations, fast food restaurants and other businesses have in recent years been drastically increasing the amount of light on their properties. As noted, its not just better street lights we should feel good about. Private property owners are the ones most likely to point lights (LED or otherwise) in such a way as to create light trespass, glare, and skyglow just as they always have, and the problem with LED is that they are brought spectrum, rather than emission line like the arc lamps (sodum vapor, mercury vapor, etc). This could actually result in far MORE light pollution than sodium or mercury lights could ever produce.

I do see a “bright” future ahead, and to me, that is a significant problem. We must learn how to use light wisely. Good lighting practice is not just dependent on what technology is used, but also in how it is used.

By the way, I’m in Providence, RI so my examples and experiences are not specific to Raleigh. I have been an amateur astronomer for over 25 years and have recently written to the local municipalities with my concerns about light pollution.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:59:46 +0000

The parking deck near the Civic Center- the Wake County Deck- had the white-ish LED lights throughout. It being a new deck- under a year old- they went with the most advanced technology they could afford. Was glad to see the county use the new technology in construction, maybe the new courthouse will utilize the newer technology as well when it’s built- just think of all the lights in a big courthouse!!

By: David

David — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:50:10 +0000

Truly, Raleigh is now the shining city of the future.

By: Jay W.

Jay W. — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:37:10 +0000

thanks john. i’d like to see this trend extend to the entire downtown area soon. my only question is, how many of these lights do i have to steal to make my giant LED TV?

By: Michael Seaman

Michael Seaman — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:28:42 +0000

Well-done piece on evolution of street lighting. Most recent developments include induction lamps and bi-level “smarts” (that use motion sensors to achieve even greater energy savings). Also, changes to ages-old IESNA criteria may be coming eventually, reflecting a better understanding of role of scotopic vision. Lighting levels are currently set @ photopic levels (i.e. broad daylight), even though human eyes are adapted for scotopic @ night. California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) in Davis, CA, is leading research into new products that capture advantages of these new technologies. CREE is affiliated with CLTC and is helping with the innovations.

By: Ginny Skalski

Ginny Skalski — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:11:58 +0000

Thanks for this trip down lighting history lane. As always, you do an incredible job giving us insight on Raleigh’s history.

I’m thrilled about LED lighting technology. As a Cree employee, I read about LED street lights, office lights, parking deck lights and even residential lights being installed all the time. It’s truly incredible to read about the energy savings that governments, universities and even business owners are seeing because they switched to LED lights.

We show off a lot of examples of LED lighting on our site and also offer a monthly photo contest for people to win 5 of our LED lights. You can see more at http://CreeLEDRevolution.com

Thanks, John, for showing off some of Raleigh’s efforts to save energy and provide its residents & visitors with better lighting!