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Okan170 posted:They've started to install LED streetlights in my area of LA and they are pretty snazzy. Losing the orange glow is a great thing, lower light pollution and even lighting on the street, heck it even makes it easier to read the road markings. I hope they keep going with this and nobody starts up a stupid "our ugly streetlight heritage" project to block it! Would you mind grabbing a couple of pictures for comparison? Sounds like a good initiative.
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May 15, 2012 09:13
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KozmoNaut posted:Would you mind grabbing a couple of pictures for comparison? Sounds like a good initiative. Sure thing, I'll go out tomorrow night and grab some shots of the ones in our area (east echo park). In the mean time, I found some good ones of the 6th street bridge that got an overhaul, courtesy of the DOT. Before:  After  It makes the yellow bars stand out against the pavement color as well as giving a nice even light all over. Also no ugly amber glow!
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May 15, 2012 10:16
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Okan170 posted:Sure thing, I'll go out tomorrow night and grab some shots of the ones in our area (east echo park). In the mean time, I found some good ones of the 6th street bridge that got an overhaul, courtesy of the DOT. I know pictures tend to skew things because of auto-adjustment going on in the camera and everything, but that is an amazing improvement in contrast!
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May 15, 2012 11:58
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I thought they used the orange lamps because they do well in the fog?
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May 15, 2012 14:00
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VR Cowboy posted:I thought they used the orange lamps because they do well in the fog? That was the theory, and redder spectrum lights do refract less, but in practice the difference was pretty minor. The brain adjusts well, and with enough traffic density, everybody's white headlights negate any benefit. LED based street lighting is also both more electrically efficient, cheaper to purchase, and requires less maintenance. The cost of replacing all the streetlamps can be recouped in something like 10 years, making it a no-brainer.
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May 15, 2012 15:31
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Weren't the old ones low-pressure sodium lamps? I didn't think LEDs could get more efficient than those.
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May 15, 2012 16:21
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The local university just replaced huge chunks of the street lighting with LED (on the prime inbound roads) and Induction. Makes driving at night through campus a pleasure.
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May 15, 2012 16:46
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Digital War posted:Weren't the old ones low-pressure sodium lamps? I didn't think LEDs could get more efficient than those. LEDs are extremely efficient. Also while low-pressure sodium lamps are also very efficent, the fact that they only output a narrow band of yellow-orange light means many things are harder to see then under normal lighting types. You need less total light output with a broad band of light that looks white than with the extremely narrow band of yellow light from low-pressure sodiums, so LEDs at athe same power usage being slightly dimmer than low pressure sodium doesn't matter much.
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May 15, 2012 17:56
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Okan170 posted:Sure thing, I'll go out tomorrow night and grab some shots of the ones in our area (east echo park). In the mean time, I found some good ones of the 6th street bridge that got an overhaul, courtesy of the DOT. Ironically this bridge is slated for demo: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/19/local/la-me-historic-river-bridge-20111119
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May 15, 2012 18:13
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Mandalay posted:Ironically this bridge is slated for demo: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/19/local/la-me-historic-river-bridge-20111119 They can still reuse the lights.
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May 15, 2012 18:37
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I've only recently noticed the new LED streetlights but haven't had the chance to see any of them lit at night. If they are anywhere near that photos representation that will be wonderful. Some of us remember the old full spectrum streetlights and I miss being able to see colors instead of lovely amber/brown/what have you.
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May 15, 2012 18:47
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Volmarias posted:They can still reuse the lights. But Cichildae likes talking about bridge demolitions :|
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May 15, 2012 22:31
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Mandalay posted:But Cichildae likes talking about bridge demolitions :| Slight correction: I like blowing up bridges. I also love the way LED streetlamps look: ribbon-thin and super modern. HORRIBLE WORK POLICY UPDATE: I know I'm big on saving lives and all that, but sometimes our health & safety unit goes overboard. I got an email this afternoon that says we're going to need special protective equipment from now on if we go into a signal cabinet, even if we're just looking over the flashing lights or changing phase timings. Note that signal cabinets have significantly better wiring and grounding than the circuit breakers in almost any house, and they're 120 VAC max. So, what kind of safety equipment are we talking?  This arc flash suit (we're leasing them, so I won't get to attach my own cool decals) PLUS a retroreflective hard hat PLUS safety glasses underneath PLUS a type III retroreflective shirt PLUS heavy gloves PLUS insulated steel-toed boots. It's going to be a lot of fun in Summer, especially if you're the third guy to wear it that day. You didn't think we'd each be getting our own, did you? There is a silver lining, though: I am going to pull SO many pranks in that suit, like frantically waving at drivers from atop an overpass, and going to restaurants all dolled up like that.
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May 15, 2012 22:49
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That's loving ridiculous. It's safer than a house hold panel but you have to wear a god damned space suit? Who comes up with this...
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May 15, 2012 23:52
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Cichlidae posted:HORRIBLE WORK POLICY UPDATE: Please oh please cross-post in this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3435068
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May 15, 2012 23:55
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The Proc posted:Please oh please cross-post in this thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3435068 I follow that thread too. I can't wait! 
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May 16, 2012 00:50
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Goddamn, our electricians work all day in 480V panels and they don't need that kind of suit until they go outside and play in our 12KV poo poo. I'm suddenly reminded of this:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekpD06P7kiI
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May 16, 2012 01:09
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Ahahahaha Level 4 arc flash for what's basically a PLC cabinet. I cannot imagine a high arc flash level in a cabinet like that. How is the thing powered? Is there an underground or overhead transformer that's several kVA to run the controller cabinet and a few lights at a time? IOwn should be really careful - there are 480V systems I've encountered with flash hazards going from Level 0 to >4. It totally depends on your system, how it's configured and what you're doing. For people who are puzzled by the suit, check out this video. Or stop by my thread. (SHAMELESS PLUG! Get it? "Plug?") 
Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 01:27 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 01:22
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I presume they were just about to do over that piece of track.
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May 16, 2012 01:23
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Three-Phase posted:IOwn should be careful - there are 480V systems I've encountered with flash hazards going from Level 1 to >4. Oh I keep my rear end away from actually touching anything electrical, most I've ever done here is plug in the fan at my desk  I don't even have access to the hallway with said 480V->208/120 panels installed.
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May 16, 2012 01:26
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IOwnCalculus posted:Oh I keep my rear end away from actually touching anything electrical, most I've ever done here is plug in the fan at my desk Oh, just distribution panels? Those can still be hazardous depending on, again, system configuration. I'm thinking of stuff like somewhat larger unit subs and motor control centers (4160V, 7200V or 13.8kV down to 480/277 at 1200A or 3000A, stuff like that. Especially right off the transformer secondary the arc flash levels can be skin-charringly lethal. Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 01:30 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 01:28
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Cichlidae posted:There is a silver lining, though. I snickered at this.
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May 16, 2012 01:37
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Three-Phase posted:Oh, just distribution panels? Those can still be hazardous depending on, again, system configuration. Yeah we don't have quite that much power here, at least not on any one single circuit. I think the biggest I saw on any one-line diagram was 600A at 12KV. From what I hear, those suits are really comfortable when working on our UPS / generators / transformers outside mid-day when it's 115 out!
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May 16, 2012 01:41
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IOwnCalculus posted:Yeah we don't have quite that much power here, at least not on any one single circuit. I think the biggest I saw on any one-line diagram was 600A at 12KV. 12MVA medium voltage feed? Sounds like a small factory. I think some companies make under-vests with ice packs to help make the suits more bearable when it's hot out. Indoors can be bad too, I've been in buildings where it gets to a hundred degrees+ in the summer with all the equipment running. So do those traffic lights, the actual lights, run off 120V, or something higher like 208V or 277V?
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May 16, 2012 01:53
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Three-Phase posted:12MVA medium voltage feed? Sounds like a small factory. Datacenter, actually. Two 10MVA feeds today, possibly doubling that eventually. I'll stop derailing (  ) this thread, I've been slowly reading yours so I can get a better idea of what our electricians actually deal with, without having to pester them quite so much.
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May 16, 2012 01:58
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Three-Phase posted:Ahahahaha Level 4 arc flash for what's basically a PLC cabinet. I cannot imagine a high arc flash level in a cabinet like that. How is the thing powered? Is there an underground or overhead transformer that's several kVA to run the controller cabinet and a few lights at a time? You're looking at 110VAC, about 500W load, so 10A max. Nothing I wouldn't run into with household appliances. Considering we have everything in our office cubicles permanently plugged into power strips, often ungrounded, the Health and Safety guys should have us wearing massive PPE every time we use our computers... Or maybe they're just overreacting to justify their salary, and don't have anything else to critique! The main slap to the face is that our electrical contractors won't have to wear arc flash suits and helmets while they're wiring the cabinets, whereas we have to when we're just poking around the controller. Gonna look like a total doofus in that get-up next to a bunch of guys in jeans and t-shirts.
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May 16, 2012 03:27
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Here's the difference between lights. I apologize for lovely cell phone quality, it's all I had on me on the way home. High pressure Sodium: (The typical orange-ish road light)  HID Metal Halide: (Like above, just more blue-ish and not quite as bright. Some newer cars have these for headlights.)  Induction: (A "reversed lightbulb" that uses electromagnetics instead of filament to produce light.)  LED: (These particular ones are low mast, since the roadway is entirely covered by tree.)  Induction lights use 1/3 the power of sodium lamps and go about ~10 years before needing a replacement bulb. Not as efficient as LED, but the light they put out is almost the same as daylight, doesn't degenerate over time and doesn't have that subtle "shining" effect you get from LED lamps. Until some of the kinks involved with LED lighting are worked out (dimming, voltage flux burnout), Induction is the best product on the market. Varance fucked around with this message at 03:45 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 03:30
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Cichlidae posted:Slight correction: I like blowing up bridges. Everyone is going to think you are the bomb squad. It will be amazing (and about a week before the cops tell your bosses to stop using them).
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May 16, 2012 03:40
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Zero One posted:Everyone is going to think you are the bomb squad. It will be amazing (and about a week before the cops tell your bosses to stop using them). We thought up a whole list of probably illegal things we could do with them on! - Drive as fast as I want, and when I get pulled over, say "We've got a Code Blue. I need to get to the Base RIGHT AWAY." - If that doesn't fly, "My wallet is in my pocket, but if I take off this suit, you'll be contaminated, too..." - Ask passing pedestrians if they've noticed any ticking sounds in the roadside bushes. When they ask why, I'll mutter something about IEDs. - Hold a potemkin geiger counter and stare intently at someone's mailbox. - Point at passing cars, holding my hand to my ear as if I'm using a walkie-talkie. - Ask random passers-by if they have a sore throat, runny nose, or bleeding eye sockets. - Drive slowly with the windows down, speakers blaring classic rock, and rocking out with the suit on. - Establish a perimeter around a nearby ice cream stand and try to secure a sample of each flavor for testing.
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May 16, 2012 03:56
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Varance posted:Here's the difference between lights. I apologize for lovely cell phone quality, it's all I had on me on the way home. I'll add to the LED photos here. Went out and took some pics when the sun went down. You can see a bit of the older orange lights down the streets.  
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May 16, 2012 07:14
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Cichlidae posted:We thought up a whole list of probably illegal things we could do with them on! Not illegal, but if it wouldn't get me in trouble, I'd try and make a video with our electricians doing the Melbourne Shuffle to Party Rock Anthem with the Level 4 suits. Ha ha ha. But yeah, I've described the Level 3/4 suits as "bomb squad suits" before. Typically you'd never ever have to use them in a public space. I could see where that could draw police attention. Lots of places are trying to eliminate work where you'd need suits like that. They have an "if we have to use those suits, schedule a shutdown instead" attitude. Now if you're working on a critical system, you still need to do live work. Three-Phase fucked around with this message at 10:26 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 10:16
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Varance posted:Induction lights use 1/3 the power of sodium lamps and go about ~10 years before needing a replacement bulb. Not as efficient as LED, but the light they put out is almost the same as daylight, doesn't degenerate over time and doesn't have that subtle "shining" effect you get from LED lamps. Until some of the kinks involved with LED lighting are worked out (dimming, voltage flux burnout), Induction is the best product on the market. I haven't seen induction here anywhere but LED is going up all over the place. A lot of tunnels have LED lighting now that consist of 3-4 strips op LED running along the roof, the dimming issue is solved by just turning on or off more strips. I think this picture was already posted in this thread but since it is relevant to the current topic here it is again: A44, old and new lighting side by side. [img]http://i.imgur.com/X3ezp.jpg][/img]. I've never seen induction but i love LED lighting and from current trends it seems like it is going to win.
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May 16, 2012 11:28
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NihilismNow posted:I haven't seen induction here anywhere but LED is going up all over the place. A lot of tunnels have LED lighting now that consist of 3-4 strips op LED running along the roof, the dimming issue is solved by just turning on or off more strips. Goddamn. I have astigmatism, so driving at night usually means dealing with balls and streaks of light like on the left from traditional bulb types. It looks like that picture shows LEDs won't cause the same thing if that picture is anything to go by, and that'll make driving at night much easier for me once we start getting them here.
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May 16, 2012 15:19
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Install Gentoo posted:Goddamn. I have astigmatism, so driving at night usually means dealing with balls and streaks of light like on the left from traditional bulb types. It looks like that picture shows LEDs won't cause the same thing if that picture is anything to go by, and that'll make driving at night much easier for me once we start getting them here. They still will, but if all the LED fixtures are that well designed you'll only have problems with the ones close enough to shine right on you. The most important difference I see in that photo is that the LEDs are well hooded and shine down in a tight cone, whereas those particular sodium fixtures have the bulb much more exposed and blast photons all over the horizon.
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May 16, 2012 15:30
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Cichlidae posted:We thought up a whole list of probably illegal things we could do with them on! Would a "Take me to your leader" or two be too cliché?
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May 16, 2012 16:15
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This used to be my favourite pedestrian crossing sign in Japan. I am sad to report it has since been "fixed".
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May 16, 2012 16:23
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NihilismNow posted:I've never seen induction but i love LED lighting and from current trends it seems like it is going to win. CFL bulbs using a magnetic ballast are basically the same thing in a smaller package. And yes, both types of bulbs contain mercury. Not as big of a deal with street lighting since it's outdoor, housed in a purpose-built fixture and only changed by professionals. Varance fucked around with this message at 20:50 on May 16, 2012 |
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May 16, 2012 20:47
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One of the reasons I actually like living in Arizona - things get done. I've been noticing a weird quirk with one of the lights on an offramp near my house since they added a flashing yellow arrow to indicate the permissive left; every once in a while, I'd be sitting northbound on the north end of the overpass, waiting for a green light, but when southbound traffic would get the green, northbound would only get the flashing yellow arrow. It's been going on for a while now, so when I finally got off my rear end to report the dead street light in my front yard, I also reported this separately a couple days ago.quote:As of this afternoon, we have observed the interchange and have seen the issue that was noted in the email. The signal was operating correctly per the programming in the controller; the situation you were seeing would occur when left turn detection was actuated on the other side of the bridge deck and the side you were on did not have vehicle detections. We have made a couple of minor setting changes and when the left turn flashing yellow arrow becomes active the adjacent indication in the same direction will go green. Thank you again for your interest.
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May 16, 2012 22:52
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We're scheduled to replace our streetlights with LEDs, but it's at the very bottom of the priority list, so every time a bridge needs rehab, it gets pushed out another year. Also, fun fact: it takes $98 million to re-stripe every state and federal road in Connecticut.
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May 18, 2012 12:25
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NihilismNow posted:I haven't seen induction here anywhere but LED is going up all over the place. A lot of tunnels have LED lighting now that consist of 3-4 strips op LED running along the roof, the dimming issue is solved by just turning on or off more strips. On some stretches of road in Norway they are experimenting with small LED lights on the barrier between lanes. Not to illuminate the road, just to mark the barrier and where the road is heading. An alternative to no lights at all and full illumination. 
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May 22, 2012 12:58
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