Developing a long term maintenance program of the LEDs

Time：2016-05-05　Views：2245　Compile：SUNPER

It is very common for the traditional HID lamps to fail after burning out after a certain period of time. This is not the case with the LEDs. As the time goes by, the LEDs gradually become dimmer rather than burning out and failing to function totally. However, the LEDs used to light streets available on the market today produce more than 80 percent of their initial light after a period of 100,000 hours which is equivalent to 25 years of typical applications in the field. It is important to develop a long term maintenance program for the LEDs and here is why.

It is not possible to predict how the lighting technology will be in 20 years time from now. Perhaps, the famous LEDs might not be there by then. We can also assume that if there will be need to replace the lights during that time, definitely we shall be using more efficient light sources. What we shall be using might not be compatible with the luminaries we have currently. Therefore, it is not good to specify what will actually replace the modular light engines or the LEDs. It can only make sense if we replace the luminaries with the most recent technology that will be available by then.

With the long life of the LED products, there will be a change on how the long term maintenance program will be considered. The two major issues that are worth considering include the spot replacement of the components as well as luminaire cleaning.

For the spot replacement of the components, the LED systems only power drivers and photo-controls are usually subject to replacement. This is not the case with the HID systems since there is failure of igniters, ballasts, photo-controls as well as lamps. Nowadays, the power supplies are rated for 100,000 hours of life and replacements are expected to be very rare, perhaps less than 1 percent.

Due to the long life of these products, it may not be practically possible to stock replacement power doors or power supplies. The entire luminaire is usually covered by the manufacturers with a warrant of five years. It might be best to replace the whole unit in case there is failure. This can allow for the greatest flexibility when different products or when different manufacturers get used to them in the city.

Todays, you can find long life photocells available on the market and designed to last for at least 20 years. This is a worthwhile investment especially if you do not have to replace them frequently. However, they have a considerable premium price over the conventional photo-controls.