Going are the days of fluorescents and metal halides. The era of LED lighting is knocking on our doorstep.LEDs have rapidly become one of the best considerations for outdoor lighting, as well. The problems with metal halides are beyond cure. The lighting industry has moved from this era to the LED lighting revolution. LEDs are great energy savers and better illuminators. The life duration of these lights is up to 10 times better than compared to that of fluorescents and LEDs. LED outdoor lights have only one drawback, and it is that none of these lights are cheap any means. In recent years, the production of LED lights has been subsidized. Governments like that of India have been successful in convincing a large chunk of their population to adopt LED lighting for their homes as well as commercial spaces.
Advantages of LED outdoor lighting over metal halides-
Better And Brighter-
LED lights like flood lights and LED pole lights are great examples of outdoor lighting. They not only illuminate brighter lights; they also emit better lights. Their light is devoid of flickering(almost zero flickering). Flickering in many researches has been the cause of eye-straining. Lights emitted from LEDs are flicker less hence more comfortable to the eyes. The CRI of these lights is more than 80 in general, which means that colors rendered by these lights is close to reality.
Energy savings-
It has been seen in many places, wherewith many retrofit projects, energy savins increased by 75%. This is definitely due to the efficient lighting mechanism of many LED chips working together. Not only energy savings, these lights also save a lot of money as well. These lights are not liabilities; they are assets. With energy savings alone, these lights will give you a return on investments in just a couple of years.
Low Maintenance-
We must not forget that a lot of outdoor lights are mounted on poles and ceilings that are up to 20 feet or higher. Since LED lights like pole lights are established on such heights, it is difficult to change and maintain bulbs frequently. LED lights workout that drawback as well. Most of these LED outdoor fixtures like outdoor floodlights come with are UL listed and even DLC approved. Some yet come with an IP rating, which means that they are also shockproof(can easily endure minor shocks)
Longer Life-
The life of LEDs is at least 50,000 hours. Metal halides last around 3000 hours. In rare cases, they have also been found to last up to 15,000 hours, which is still less than a third of LED’s lifetime. A higher lifetime of light also means they will suffer lesser lumen depreciation.
Multipurpose Lights-
These lights are multipurpose, thanks to some additional features. LED pole lights are used as street lights. LED pole light provides colors and illumination so good that pedestrians and drivers feel safer at nights while commuting. These lights, when used as parking lot lights, can also be integrated with motion sensors also to serve the security lights. When accompanied with dimmers, these lights become even more optimized for power saving. If the lights do not detect any motion at a particular spot for more than 10 minutes, they will dim the lights.
These lights are also used in various other forms- parking lot lighting, garages, street lighting, pathway lighting, and much more.
Beam Angles-
Outdoor lightings, in many cases, have a wide beam angle. A higher beam angle means the light covers a higher area. This quantity also shows that lights can be directed in a particular range.