Street Lights of Olongapo
I was going to spend some time writing about the different kinds of street light fixtures I've seen in both Olongapo and at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, but decided instead to point out one of the most common street light fixtures in Olongapo. Look at the picture on the left.
What you're looking at is a fluorescent light bulb attached to a cement post and protected from rain by a piece of corrugated tin roofing material. Unlike more modern societies, the majority of street lights in the Philippines are owned and operated by home and business owners. The Philippine Utility Department, responsible for electrical services in Olongapo, has nothing to do with these types of lights.
The Advent of Light Emitting Diodes (LED or LEDs)
While LEDs have been around longer than home computers, it wasn't until recent years that LEDs started to replace traditional light bulbs. They're now used in flashlights, solar garden lights and as LED home lighting fixtures.
One of the reasons LEDs are quickly becoming the favorites for lighting fixtures is because of their lower power consumption and because of how long they last as opposed to light bulbs of different kinds.
Reasonably Cheap Solar Power
Things like LED garden lighting are becoming more and more popular due to slowly decreasing costs of solar cells and the availability of cheap LEDs, which require far less electricity than fluorescent or incandescent bulbs.
Eventually, street lights everywhere (and not just in modern societies) will use arrays of LEDs to replace the bulbs currently in use. How long it takes for the people who make the lights to incorporate solar cells and batteries to replace standard electrical lines is the unknown factor in the equation.
Street Lights for Security
I have two posts and two street lights set up at the front of my house, as part of the front fence. One is at the main entrance to the compound and the other is at the far right corner of the property, next to the creek.
In the past, burglars have scaled the fence walls next to the creek to get onto my property. They've never succeeded in breaking in before being spotted, and having street lights that shine light onto specific areas of the property, as well as the street, is the primary reason.
The street lights are there for safety as well. There's a trail that comes out from next to the creek and onto the main street. Without a street light shining onto the trail, the chances of missing the trail and walking into the creek would be much greater. This trail is basically a shortcut from lower residences to the main street. With the trail, which is only from about 100 to 200 meters, people would have to walk more than a kilometer along two streets to get from point A to point B.
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Street lights are meant for people to walk or move on the roads in dark times with out any difficulty. And making use of the solar power to lighten the street lights is great.
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I have some LED lightbulbs I use at home. They are only about a quarter as bright as conventional bulbs but I think it will be quite a while before they develop a mass produced powerful bulb.
That is a very nice street lights.It is good to avoid any accident and any crime.
Wow! I can't belive that the utility district has nothing to do with the street lights. That's a whole other world.
I've been recently looking into the solar panel pricing. I want to get a solar generator, but right now they're still not very cost effective.
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We bought some solar lights for the walkway but they didn't put out much light. We don't have any street lights on our street (we are rural) but my husband put one on a pole at the corner of the driveway. My dream would be to be off the grid and self sufficient. But of course I don't want to give up my luxuries.
Thanks for sharing.
hi RT,
Thanks for shedding some light on this subject. Oops, sorry for the pun. Didn't meant to make light of a very serious subject.
Actually, I switched all the bulbs in my house from standard incandescent to CFL about two years ago, and it's dropped our electric bill by about 25%. I think LED light bulbs, when their more economical, will help even more.
Anyway, I take street lights for granted here in the US. Do you have to pay for the electricity to run the lights around your house? ~ Steve (aka the Trade Show Guru)
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we too have various lights positioned around the house, precisely to make burglars think twice about trying to scale our walls.
in addition though, i like the idea of our house lights providing illumination for passers by. the subdivision here isn't all that well lit, so i think it's nice to be able to do something to make our area feel a bit safer.
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Thanks for the info on street lights. It was surprisingly interesting!
That is pretty stange to me as well that the city does not take care of street lights and such. I would think that that would discourage people from having outside lights if they pay for it themselves, but from what you say, it doesn't seem so. It would probably raise taxes anyway, meaning that people would be paying for it anyways.
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I plan on installing a couple in front and back of my residence also.
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On a somewhat related note… I live north of Houston in The Woodlands. It's strange to travel anywhere else because all the power lines are underground. I didn't even know what power lines were until I started driving. That's sad.
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Solar power ought to be used by consumers and industries. Especially consumers. Now that we have a financial crunch which is sure to last a few years, anything that can save money in the longterm is good. Use of solar power will also lighten up the load in power generation. Meaning that we can help save the environment. Since the knowledge is already out there, it's just a matter of convincing others that applying the knowledge is a good thing.
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I've got money set aside just for something like this. I mean they have plenty of uses and keep you and your things safe!
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Never seen streetlights like that but they seem like they put out a ton of light! I bet the crime rate went down when those streetlights were installed!
I agree with you that LED garden lighting are becoming more and more popular. My wife and I became fanatics of LED and solar lighting. We like how our garden looks when lit by LED lights. Best of all, since they are all solar powered LED lights, they automatically lights up at dusk which my wife is so amazed of.
I also hope that cities in Philippines will switch to using LED light bulbs in their street light fixtures.
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Street lights are meant for people to walk or move on the roads in dark times with out any difficulty. And making use of the solar power to lighten the street lights is great
I thought that for some reason LEDs weren't suitable for streetlights – something about the limited spectrum or something? I would love it if it weren't the case and that LED lights are on the way. Street lights use SO much power!
Do you have any information about visibility with normal street lights vs. LEDs?
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I don't know about luminance, but LED street lights are already being used in other Asian countries.
You know, I always thought there must be some reason why municipalities aren't using LED street lights. They make so much sense, that it's silly not to.
It appears it's starting to catch on: Anchorage is installing them, and Ann Arbor is as well. I'm looking forward to my new LED overlords.
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We are working on a LEED project and are using LED extensively. Great lighting system and in conjunction with all the other systems of the structure it will become a net zero building.
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