http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/ Engadget Comments for Ann Arbor street lights to be replaced with LEDs http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Bring it on!]]>Oct 19th 2007 7:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 7:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 7:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 7:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
It also pains me greatly to state that there's also nothing wrong with OSU being #1 "by chance." They were not GIVEN #1 for free - they started out high enough preseason and took care of business every week, which is more than I can say for most other highly ranked teams coming into this year, including my own.]]>Oct 19th 2007 9:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 24th 2007 5:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Basically white LED-s appear white, but their spectrum differs significantly from that of a black body radiation (conventional light bulb, sun, etc). They have a rather sharp spike in the blue color range.

Blue light between 400 and 500nm has an odd property that our eye photo cells don't recover before absorbing more of the light, and this can lead to eye injury, i.e. this is what "blue-light hazard is".

It'll be interesting to watch the Toronto people suffer from more eye injuries as a results of their city lights being replaced with LED-s.]]>Oct 19th 2007 7:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Even current warm tint high-flux LEDs have red levels on par with their blue levels.]]>Oct 19th 2007 9:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/The trouble is they emit a narrow blue peak -- you filter that and you have little left.
Where as heat-based lights emit close to black-body, which is (over the narrow gap that is the visible spectrum) flat, or slanted one way, or slanted the other, depending on effective temperature. But _not_ possessing a sharp peak.
The trouble isn't the blue light -- it's the blue light _without_ other colors that causes problems.
Though, as pointed out, new blue LEDs have broader spectra, reducing the hazard.]]>Oct 19th 2007 9:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 10:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 23rd 2007 10:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 7:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
And, yes, LEDs will save lots of energy. Sure. We know all that. So we *don't* need to hear it again and again on Engadget, every time another city decides it's time to bite the bullet and invest up-front to save in the long term. It's pretty much inevitable at this point, which means it's not news.

Now, LED lighting systems for the home, sure. Those are still expensive enough to be a novelty; as they come down in price, we'll see interesting products built around them. But drop-in replacements for street lights are not interesting.]]>Oct 19th 2007 8:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Truth is basically do burn out though. Usually they fail gradually vs suddenly so it's harder to notice.

I wish people aren't so quick to jump on the cheap bandwagon before considering the health consequences of lighting the entire city with those things. It's handy as equipment light indicator, street lights and on your cellphone, or as a backup flashlight.

But using it as a primary source of light is harmful.

In a way it's like aspartam: much cheaper than sugar but much less healthy.]]>Oct 19th 2007 8:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
In what manner are LEDs injurious to health?]]>Oct 19th 2007 9:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
You make it sound like this is something that has been going on for years, but this will be the third city to do a big swap like this. This is technology news that interests some of us. Just because it's not about the latest Apple product doesn't mean no one cares. You sure are spending a lot of time commenting on something you don't care about.]]>Oct 19th 2007 9:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
That 60K hour life is in lab conditions (and I've seen numbers as high as 100K hours).

They are sensitive to heat (among other things). There is also the issue of the driver burning out before the actual LED.

Most of my sales reps (I manufacture fixtures) who sell LEDS have seen most of the white colors lasting no more than 20,000 hours.

Look at the warranties for these LEDs. Most companies will not go beyond a year, which is less than 10,000 hours. If they last 60,000 hours, you would expect them to stand behind their products for at least five years.

The other poster is correct... LEDs are ideal for signal, sign, and accent, but for general lighting, they're not ready for prime time. Colored applications take advantage of the energy savings by not having to filter out everything but the color you want -- They just create what you need. This doesn't apply as nicely to white light.]]>Oct 19th 2007 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Regardless, LED lighting sounds like a good idea, perhaps it will offset the cost of the next defeat.
Go Buckeyes!]]>Oct 19th 2007 7:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 9:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 11:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 20th 2007 1:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/See, our colors are yellow and blue, and it all goes back to the 1800s when we used to grow corn, or something. Corn = maize = yellow.

Go Blue!]]>Oct 19th 2007 8:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 8:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/

Cause we all know what an AA can do against the Maize and Blue :)]]>Oct 19th 2007 8:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 9:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 9:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 9:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 9:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 12:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 1:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 20th 2007 11:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 20th 2007 11:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 20th 2007 11:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
OSU overrated? Possibly, but at least we beat the teams we are supposed to, like 1-AA Football teams.

Michigan sucks]]>Oct 19th 2007 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Go Blue!]]>Oct 19th 2007 11:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
But it's different coaches, different players, different everything. It's really about the here and now.

It's sad when you have to add up decades of results to offset current conditions. Face up to the facts - If history is all you've got, then you're living in the past!
]]>Oct 19th 2007 2:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/LEDs are getting there, and they are beginning to become useful in architectural lighting contexts, however they are not efficient enough to use them for public street lighting in my opinion. Sounds like Cree have subsidised this project anyway...]]>Oct 19th 2007 10:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
The higher bin Crees on the horizon (R-bin) will be even better.]]>Oct 19th 2007 10:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 10:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
Ah - never thought I'd see my love of technology and college football combined.

As far as it being a few years before Carr (or his replacement) beats the Buckeyes - it will be at least that. If the Big 10 is "weak" like the talking heads (Lee Corso I'm giving you my evil eye) like to say - then being unbeaten in the big 10 isn't a big deal - you have to look at the non-conference games. UM lost to App. State (who??) and OSU beat Washington quite handily (in fact they man-handled them easier than USC who was ranked #1 at the time!). It would be a great shock to me if UM beats OSU this year. If anyone has a chance it may be PSU ... but I'm not worried.

But then again - who thought USC would lose to Stanford? Oh yeah - Big 10 (and SEC too probably) fans that always think USC is over-rated.

One thought that occurs to me about the OLEDs... "this will last an entire lifetime" I wouldn't base financial decisions on that fact. After all - some original Model T drivers still drive their car - but the vast majority of us don't hang onto a car or anything else our whole lives. There will be a new lighting technology eventually that is cheaper, longer-lasting, etc. How long do those UM LEDs have to be operating before the cost savings cover the installation costs? According to the numbers in the article it could be seven years or more..... Where it will get sticky is when LEDs start popping up (monitors..) in other sectors that replace their parts more often not out of necessity - but to stay "current." Would you pay triple the price for a monitor that will last your whole life?

But hey, if UM (and Toronto) wants to be the test mule for the rest of the world - be our guest!]]>Oct 19th 2007 11:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/
I mean, they're talking about lighting an entire city this way (and as a Michiganian, it's my favorite city in my state, by the way) yet we've got numerous people talking about something that takes place in a mere 100+ yards of the city.

What I'm saying is WHAT DOES BIG 10 FOOTBALL HAVE TO DO WITH THIS ARTICLE?!?!

Nothing? Oh, I see. It's just whenever anyone talks about a town like Ann Arbor or Lansing, all they know about it is the damned college sports team.

Ann Arbor is a lot more than a college town. It's the home base for a lot of forward-thinking companies (Google, Borders, etc.) and it's the most progressive city in the midwest. It's a nice place to live-- People do LIVE there, you know.

The way some of you talk, you'd think Ann Arbor is just the University of Michigan's football team surrounded by some street lights.

And please-- Stop with the whole "Wolverines" thing. It's an ancient, antique of a nickname for Michigan natives, and the sports teams don't help a whole lot. There hasn't been an wolverine in Michigan for over a hundred years, if ever (some say we never actually had them here.)

And as much as I find Ohio to be weird and backwards sometimes, they aren't just the fricking Buckeyes. There are lots of interesting things and people in Ohio... Not just sports.

And the best thing about Michigan and Ohio..?

Neither of us is Indiana. ]]>Oct 19th 2007 11:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/Oct 19th 2007 5:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ann-arbor-street-lights-to-be-replaced-with-leds/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4374309/]]>Oct 19th 2007 5:28PM