New street lights reflect changing times in Manor Park

City completes changeover to LEDs earlier this summer

Manor Park’s street lighting has entered the 21st century while maintaining its 20th century look.

A year-long city program to replace the community’s 144 outdated fixtures was completed earlier this summer. Gone are the aging high-pressure sodium and metal halide bulbs. In their place — modern LEDs (light-emitting diodes) packaged in a more modern carriage-style frame. 

While this will be a money saver for the city, that wasn’t the only reason for the switch, explains Stuart Edison, manager of traffic operations for the City of Ottawa.

“Ultimately, it comes down to the fact they (old fixtures) were at end-of-lifespan,” he told the Chronicle in a recent phone interview. “We identified this as a hot spot area that was having some failures. So we put it on the list for our lifecycle replacement.”

The decision to keep the carriage light-style was made to respect “the historic look of the old ones,” Edison said. 

Benefits

Energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs will be the key benefits.

“Our street lights have a monitoring device on them now — a control node. It allows you to monitor the fixture — whether it’s on or if it’s failed, that kind of thing,” Edison said.

A centralized system allows the city’s maintenance provider to better monitor when something’s not right (light is off at night or on during the day) and “troubleshoot” more quickly. 

The cost to convert the lights was $223,000. This included the lights themselves as well as any deficiencies and repairs. By making the switch, the city will save 62% in energy consumption. Over time, Edison says they will pay for themselves.

“The big one for us … is the maintenance,” he said. “More and more (calls for service) dealt with the fixtures being at end of life.” 

Brightness

Asked about the brightness of the new lights compared to the old, Edison said there is little difference. 

“The warm light would be a similar look and illumination level as the old HP sodium bulb that was there,” he said. 

But what was in place before had aged. “They had frosted glass on them. They weathered over time and became more yellow. That can sometimes give the perception that it’s not as bright.”

The new fixtures don’t have glass panels, another potential maintenance saving. 

“If you have the glass, that’s something else that can fail or be vandalized. And, it affects the lighting over time,” he said.

Another new feature of the LEDs is that they light from the top down.

“One reason we do the light from top down is that it maintains the dark sky,” to minimize light pollution. “Reality, too, is that street lighting is there to illuminate the right of way, which is on the ground,” Edison said. “You’re getting a consistent illumination level in the neighbourhood, which makes it safe for roadway usuers.”

Manor Park resident Evan Browne would agree. He observed the fixture replacement in front of his home on Dunloe Avenue and submitted photos to the Chronicle.

“The way the lights are designed,  they do not shine into peoples’ windows, with the lit area rather precisely delineated on the ground,” he noted in an email. “That patch of light may not be quite as big as the old sodium vapor lights delivered, but the light appears to be more evenly spread around.”