Roadway Lighting Retrofit: Environmental and Economic Impact of Greenhouse Gases Footprint Reduction

Abstract

Roadway lighting retrofit is a process continuously developed in urban environments due to both installation aging and technical upgrades. The spectacular example is replacing the high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, usually high pressure sodium (HPS) ones, with the sources based on light-emitting diodes (LED). The main focus in the related research was put on energy efficiency of installations and corresponding financial benefits. In this work, we extend those considerations analyzing how lighting optimization impacts greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and what are the resultant financial benefits expressed in terms of emission allowances prices. Our goal is twofold: (i) obtaining a quantitative assessment of how a GHG footprint depends on a technological scope of modernization of a city HPS-based lighting system; and (ii) showing that the costs of such a modernization can be decreased by up to 10% thanks to a lowered CO 2 emission volume. Moreover, we identify retrofit patterns yielding the most substantial environmental impact.

Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Sustainable Development and Energy Performance of Exterior Lighting

“…Improving the energy efficiency of exterior lighting requires consideration of several areas, from the planning process to the user end phase. A great deal of research has been conducted with a focus on energy and exterior lighting-e.g., light sources [27,28], intelligent and smart systems [29,30], control systems [31], dimming [32,33], optimization [34][35][36], quality needs [37,38], energy performance indicators [39][40][41], and evaluations [1,[42][43][44]. Other studies have examined combinations of factors, e.g., a change of light source and dimming [45].…”

Study on the Power Quality of LED Street Luminaires

“…For the tested LED luminaires, the harmonic deformation on the supply voltage, with higher values but still within the standard limits, will cause an increase in the current harmonic distortion generated by the LED luminaires. Different studies [18][19][20] have addressed the possibility of retrofitting existing luminaires with LEDs with the purpose of reducing waste materials and reusing different components of the existing luminaires. It was concluded that the selection of the proper lighting gear is crucial during the retrofit design phase, not only for satisfying the requirements imposed by regulations on average illuminance and uniformity but also for their energy performance and power quality [20].…”