Palo Alto, California. May 18, 1998
Hewlett-Packard Company, the world's largest supplier of high-brightness red and yellow LED lamps, today announced that it is offering high-intensity bluish-green LED lamps for traffic signals. These LEDs, designed to meet the color and brightness requirements of green traffic signals based on U.S. and many worldwide standards, make HP the first U.S. manufacturer capable of supplying all three lamps (high-intensity, high-efficiency red, yellow and green) to manufacturers of traffic signals.
The "traffic-signal green" (505nm dominant wavelength) lamps provide typical intensities of up to 2,300 millicandela with a 23-degree viewing angle and 2,100 millicandela with a 30-degree viewing angle (20mA drive current) in the company's second-generation precision optical-performance package. This package features a special optical-lens structure that provides precise control of light output in signal head designs with or without lenses.
Now manufacturers can produce LED traffic-signal heads that comply with Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) standards for color and brightness in all three colors and that consume 85 percent less energy than incandescent lamps. Conventional 12-inch-diameter traffic signals use incandescent lamps consuming from 116 to 150 watts. LED equivalents with today's technology consume only 10 to 18 watts of electrical power.
LED traffic signals also require almost no maintenance, with the LED lamps lasting years longer than incandescent lamps. The LEDs are interconnected so that the failure of one or more individual lamps will not cause the red, yellow or green indication to go dark, thus providing an additional safety factor for motorists.
The low power usage of LED traffic signals aligns with the energy-consumption reduction goals of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
During 1998, the city of Philadelphia will install full-color LED traffic signals in five intersections in a trial program, and city officials plan to continue the technological innovation with low-voltage operation and uninterruptible power sources for traffic-signal operation. With more than 14,000 LED red ball, arrow and Portland-orange pedestrian "hands" installed since 1992, Philadelphia has one of the largest installations of LED traffic signals in North America.
"The program is expected to avoid one megawatt of electric demand and $911,000 in electric costs per year, when completed in 1999," said John M. O'Connell, chief engineer of the city's Municipal Energy Office. "I estimate that simply eliminating the annual replacement of incandescent lamps for the red indication alone saves $50 to $100 per intersection per year. For a full LED traffic signal, that amount is increased to $100 to $200. Electrical-maintenance savings due to reduced load on wiring, switches, relays and other components should save a further $20 to $50 per intersection. Combining these costs, estimates of reduced tort liability due to savings with the reduction or elimination of confusing indications due to burned-out lamps could save Philadelphiaas much as $165,000 annually, in addition to energy savings."
In order to meet the varying requirements of traffic-signal manufacturers, the lamps are available in a range of luminous intensities and are priced according to intensity.
| Part Number(1) | Viewing Angle (deg.) |
Typical Luminous Intensity (mcd @@ 20mA) |
Unit Price (1,000,000 pieces) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HLMP-CE23 | 23 | 1,500 | $0.62 |
| HLMP-CE23-R0000 | 23 | 2,100 | 0.66 |
| HLMP-CE23-S0000 | 23 | 2,300 | 0.75 |
| HLMP-CE30 | 30 | 1,150 | 0.62 |
| HLMP-CE30-P0000 | 30 | 1,900 | 0.66 |
| HLMP-CE30-Q0000 | 30 | 2,100 | 0.75 |
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HP also offers 15- and 30-degree viewing angle InGaN lamps in "pure green," with a dominant wavelength of 526nm, and in blue, with a dominant wavelength of 475nm, for general applications, including outdoor signs. Part numbers are HLMP-CM15, CM30, CB15 and CB30. These lamps feature typical intensities at 20mA of 1,575mcd, 560mcd, 4,700mcd and 1,750mcd, respectively. Their pricing is $0.75 per unit in 1,000,000-piece quantities.
All of these lamps are available now.
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