In a move sure to please the team of president-elect Obama, New York City is taking steps to promote its own green economy by switching to LED streetlamps. The program will provide the city with a few key benefits:
- Cheaper maintenance: LED lamps work twice as long as the currently used high pressure sodium bulbs.
- Cheaper power: LEDs burn 30% less energy than the current solution.
- Improved Scenery: The lamps can be set differently based on their location. In New York, there will be separate lighting schemes for park, street corner and mid-block settings.
- Upgrade path: The light fixtures will be modular, so they can be easily replaced as the lighting technology improves.
- Improved romance: As one photographer pointed out on Wired magazine, the current sodium bulbs throw an unphotogenic orange light. The new LED bulbs may well make for more beautiful photos from the big apple.
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I agree! The city used to look so beautiful at night before sodium bulbs were installed to supposedly decrease crime according to then Mayor Lindsay. Instead the crime rate continued to climb and the city resembled a max security prison yard with all of the harsh bright light. The city started to tone down the wattage of the sodium bulbs during the last fiscal crisis and wouldn’t you know it, the crime rate went way down. The light color of the led is very pleasing to the eye and I’m sure, will bring beauty back to the night time city again. You never know, we may even see the stars again.
The color of the led does look quite attractive at least from the photos I’ve seen so far. New York has done a great job at reversing its reputation as a high-crime destination;the futuristic-looking lamps go one step further and make the city more generally appealing/inviting to total outsiders like myself.