Lighting in Design Q3 2018

Trends in street lighting

W ith various cities throughout the world investing in modern street lighting, cities are beginning to become more contem- porary in design. Whether the fixtures are in Paris, Los Angeles or Johannesburg, modern streetlights offer far more than just light on a dark street. BEKA Schréder’s Product Development Man- ager, Daniel Kasper, and Senior Lighting Designer, Retief Coetzer, discuss the current street lighting market. Perhaps the biggest concern for us is that there are a lot of ‘cowboys’ out there using cheap luminaires or imitations and not applying the correct approach to design with regards to standards that provide adequate, safe and responsible street lighting. Also, in many cases, the end-user or client does not know any better and relies on these ‘cowboys’ for accurate information.This is a concern once the street lighting is installed as those in danger are the pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Further to this, end users of LED luminaires are often mislead by warranty claims which, in most cases, do not warrant the most likely failure of LED luminaires, which is surges or power sup- ply fluctuations, or abnormal daytime operation. Unfortunately, there is a general lack of knowledge within the lighting industry and among end users when it comes to fast changing and vibrant LED technology, and people can be misled by the prod- uct information provided. What are the major concerns when it comes to street lighting installations?

Is there an industry standard for street lighting? There is the safety standard SANS 60598, the performance standard SANS 475 and the SATS 17576 technical performance specification. Further to this, there are standards available relating to ad- ditional requirements such as impact, vibration and photobiological conformance. Yes. We are currently busy installing a major road in Johannesburg, consisting of eight phases, with our OWLET enabled streetlighting lumi- naires. This will achieve significant savings over time for the municipality and the residents, and will reduce the toll on the already strained power utility. Furthermore, it will give the municipality a fully detailed and updated asset register and will provide greatly improved service delivery in the case of replacement of faulty luminaires on site. We also have the new Shuffle, which is as smart as they come. Wi-Fi, CCTV, electric charging point for electric vehicles, speakers with a range of optics that are also used for op- timal spacing without cost to performance and standards. This range of street/urban luminaire systems has already started making waves inter- nationally and we have installed them in certain private estates. It’s a very hopeful future when government starts investing in these types of luminaires with the vision of saving money, elec- tricity and the environment for the betterment of the country’s citizens. Is smart lighting, as standard, on the horizon for street lights in South Africa?

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LiD Q3 - 2018