A street lighting test facility with LED technology has now been set up in Fürth near Nuremberg, Germany. A total of six LED lamps have been installed on the road to the airport in the town’s north and will provide an insight into the street lighting of tomorrow.

Schréder – the outdoor lighting specilist– has designed and constructed for Fürth’s traffic and energy supply company infra fürth GmbH six LED lamps of the P 186 type, in which OSRAM light diodes have been fitted. A total of 96 OSRAM Golden Dragon Plus LEDs with an output of 1.2 watts each are shared by two lamp sections. These have been mounted at a light spot height of eight metres.

LED luminaires look different even in daylight.
Source: Photo: Schréder

Even though the light yield in the test luminaires at around 75 lumens per watt corresponds to that of a conventional street light, it makes a much brighter impression because of the directional characteristics of LED there is less stray light than with discharge lamps. The diodes send the light through special lenses without redirecting it straight on to the ground.

As LEDs can generally be used in colour versions too, they give local governments new options in cityscape design. Another advantage is that LEDs have a much longer operating life than high-pressure discharge lamps. Shocks have no effect on their output or lifespan. As such, LEDs are also better protected from vandalism.

The test facility is intended to provide information about how suitable the new diode technology is for practical use in urban areas today. The systems’ temperature and efficiency readings are under constant observation.

At night brilliant white light illuminates the airport road in Fürth.
Source: Photo: Schréder