Old USA street lighting found in The Netherlands

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

LEDs still aren't the best for outdoor applications. In my neck of the woods route 18 past the Brookfield WI Von Maur (I think it's only around 3-4 years old) there's a section of LED street lighting it was originally all an orangie color temperature LED, but better than half have drifted color...Most have gone whiteish, but several have gone primary dark blue.

Orange? I have yet to see any LED (or other type) street light turn orange, even if the bulb is quite old. The streetlights in my area are on from dusk to dawn, seven days a week, so I would have expected to see at least one of those bulbs to be changing color (with some of them having failed) by now. I live on the main street of a village in northern Ohio, have been here 21 years, but I have yet to see any of the street lights change color. In fact, until I read the posts in this thread, I did not think it was possible for street lights to literally change color, unless there is something about LED or sodium street lights which would cause this once the bulbs are a certain age. I realize these bulbs last only X number of years; however, I wonder if the color change as the bulb ages is actually a sign that the bulb is about to burn out. If so, it would make perfect sense to me that these bulbs would be on their last legs after 10-20 years and would noticeably change color shortly before failing. The bulbs in your area must be slightly different if they turn dark blue, while most others are bright white.

[old_tv_nut]

By "orange" I think Electronic M probably meant warm white (is that correct, or really orange?).

Regarding failure:
White LEDs consist of a blue LED chip with a phosphor to fill in the rest of the spectrum. It is possible for the phosphor to degrade over time, changing the color of the light somewhat. Some white LED backlight strips for LCD monitors/TVs have shown a failure mode in which some individual LEDs become dark blue. This has been discussed online (here or on YouTube, I don't recall), but I have not seen an explanation of the failure mechanism.

[marcel]

Here in the Netherlands it does go wrong, LED street lighting changes color. Street lighting here with the option of various light colors, white to amber. Sometimes when the settings are lost you get different light colors in the street. Filters also come loose, causing the blue light to reach the street. With mercury and sodium you will get few color deviations, only at start-up.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by marcel

Street lighting here with the option of various light colors, white to amber. Sometimes when the settings are lost you get different light colors in the street.

So are you indicating that each individual LED street light can be set or programmed to amber or white, and possibly a range in between ?

jr

[marcel]

This is a separate option, so not in all fixtures. With a computer you can control the strength of the light between the amber and the white LEDs.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by marcel

Here in the Netherlands it does go wrong, LED street lighting changes color. Street lighting here with the option of various light colors, white to amber. Sometimes when the settings are lost you get different light colors in the street. Filters also come loose, causing the blue light to reach the street. With mercury and sodium you will get few color deviations, only at start-up.

It appears that the color choice is made by mixing white and amber, rather than cool white and warm white - that's my guess from the photos. So, if the white fails or is turned off completely, you get amber.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

By "orange" I think Electronic M probably meant warm white (is that correct, or really orange?).

Regarding failure:
White LEDs consist of a blue LED chip with a phosphor to fill in the rest of the spectrum. It is possible for the phosphor to degrade over time, changing the color of the light somewhat. Some white LED backlight strips for LCD monitors/TVs have shown a failure mode in which some individual LEDs become dark blue. This has been discussed online (here or on YouTube, I don't recall), but I have not seen an explanation of the failure mechanism.

It's orange like the old high pressure sodium(?) lighting that it replaced...Some of them HAVE FADED to warm white and bluish white but most that have failed failed blue like in the pictures subsequently posted.

[old_tv_nut]

Question: do they ever change the color by time of night, for example, whiter for better visibility in the early evening traffic, then amber for sleeping hours?

[marcel]

Here in the Netherlands there are streets in the evening and in the morning where the fixtures give white light and at night to amber. These can be programmed, but can also be controlled remotely via wireless telephone network. It is an expensive system, which means that it is not widely used. In a village nearby, the street lighting is mostly set to amber during the Christmas season.

There is much more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-WvawLns6c

[Telecolor 3007]

L.E.D., per se, it isn't crap. But some administrations are choosing the cheap ones, sometimes this meaning not only bad qualty, but also ugly color temperature. I don't know why they are so stupid.

[zeno]

Originally Posted by Telecolor 3007

L.E.D., per se, it isn't crap. But some administrations are choosing the cheap ones, sometimes this meaning not only bad qualty, but also ugly color temperature. I don't know why they are so stupid.

In the US they are paid to be stupid ! Very few have any common sense or
science knowledge. Also no understanding of the common man.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[Electronic M]

The big problem with LED here is a lot of the cheap ones don't survive. They'll start out bright with a good color temperature then within a year they'll start turning blue or purple....Throw in some fog and suddenly night driving has an unwelcome horror movie aesthetic.

[Telecolor 3007]

So poor qualty of them is a problem in U.S.A. too...