After having participated in a LED streetlight trial across regional Queensland, Ergon Energy has decided to play a role in promoting a wider adoption of the technology.
While all the indications are for a LED future, there’s still a lot of work to do from a technological and regulatory perspective says Ergon Innovation Engineer and Project Manager Jenny Gannon.
When it comes to the light we make it is the gleam from LED, or Light Emitting Diode, technology that perhaps represents the most advanced stage in the evolution of lighting.
History’s timeline has flickered and flared with various degrees of luminescence on the highlights; firelight, primitive oil light, candlelight, gas light, kerosene light, and the more recent light of the electrical kind – incandescent, fluorescent, arc, laser, and plasma.
For eons we have been seeking a cheaper, more efficient means of lighting the way. Now, compare the traditional lighting used to brighten homes, businesses and streets with the rapidly advancing LED technology and it’s obvious that there’s a brighter and more economical future in store.
Simply put, LED lighting is efficient; it uses less energy, it generates less heat, and it is based on technology that ushers the way for smarts like wireless communications. But like all new things it is a bit pricey at the moment, however the costs are coming down.
LED’s challenge in scale and cost is why a wide-ranging partnership, with Ergon Energy at the forefront, looks to push the LED street lighting envelope in regional Queensland.
