Those humming orange lights that illuminate your city streets typically rely on high-pressure sodium bulbs (HPS) — cheaper and longer lasting than other conventional options, sure, but not exactly energy efficient. No worries though, they may soon be obsolete thanks to these LED street lamps powered by the sun and wind.
The Eco-Pole is a freestanding lamp post that uses a 60W LED light rated for 50,000 hours of use. Instead of drawing power from the public grid, it relies on a combination of dual 90W solar cells and a 300W micro-wind turbine for energy. The process is completely self-contained and uses just a fraction of the energy conventional lights need — usually 250W and up — while producing zero emissions and requiring very little upkeep.
The best part? While HPS bulbs only shine in a narrow band of the visible spectrum — which is why they have that orange tint — these LEDs output white light (6500K band) and provide clearer, more uniform street lighting. That’s better for pedestrians and motorists alike. [Treehugger - MarketWire - SavWatt]
matt
Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 10:55 AMThe reason behind sodium bulbs only outputting the colour they do is due to the fact our eyes are more sensitive to orange/yellow..
Therefore they don’t need to be as bright.
LucasF
Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 9:47 PMActually no, the reason they output the color they do is that is what happens when you run a current through sodium. Sodium being one of the elements was around long before human eyes ever were.
matt
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 8:30 AMLucas I should’ve been a bit more explicit in my response… sodium vapour lamps were selected to use in street light applications due to the colour of the light they output
LucasF
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 1:52 PMOh Lol!!! That makes so much more sense!!!
wes
Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 4:21 PMi see myself pinching some solar panels and bringing them home to use
Jono
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 9:52 AMUgly Chinese design.
Ash
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 11:59 AMUgly design wouldve been sufficient. Why you have to bring the word “Chinese” into your comment to make it a racial issue is beyond me. Is an iPhone a “Sexy American-Syrian design”? Jeez, some people.
TSH
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 10:42 AMBrilliant. This is exactly the kind of application where sustainable energy generation is ideal. And I’m a huuuge fan of vertical-axis wind turbines.
WN
Monday, December 5, 2011 at 1:16 PMtotally agree with Ash. Jono just offended 1.3 billion people and Ash made lots of American-Syrian very happy.