Portuguese Cities Expand Installation of LUXEON LED based Street Lights

The UrbanLED luminaires were introduced in April 2009, when they were installed on a street in the Portuguese town of Pombal. The solution, which uses LUXEON Rebel power LEDs from Philips Lumileds, provide an attractive combination of power efficiency, CRI, uniform light distribution and low maintenance and repair costs.

These qualities have seen it quickly gain favor with other municipalities in Portugal. During the summer, UrbanLED street lights have been installed on streets in the towns of Alcochete, Moita, Barreiro, Arraiolos, Pombal, Santa Maria de Feira Vale de Cambra, Estarreja, Coimbra and Torres Vedras.

The installations have been carried out by EnergiaViva and the installations are as popular with residents as with municipality officials. The white light from the UrbanLED transforms areas that were previously a dark yellowish color from the high-pressure sodium lamps that they replace. The forecast implementation of UrbanLED in towns and cities around Portugal is also proof of the compelling financial case that this highefficiency, low-maintenance street lighting solution offers.

The accelerating roll-out of LED street lighting means that high-pressure sodium lamps could begin to be eliminated from Portuguese streets. “In the ten towns that have UrbanLED street lights, the municipal authorities are already seeing the benefits—a hugely improved urban environment at night time, lower electricity costs and a reduced requirement for the time of maintenance crews,” said Luis Mota, Director of EnergiaViva. “It's encouraging to see how many more local authorities in Portugal are also taking a long-term view and investing in state-of-the-art lighting. We see a complete national conversion to solid-state technology as a realistic goal over the next several years.”

The installation progress in Portugal is the result of a unique consortium of companies in the energy, lighting and construction industries. Exporlux and its development division BlueSpan, which is responsible for the luminaire design, and Rosas Construtores SA have joined forces and as EnergiaViva, deliver a complete solid state street lighting solution to municipalities.