LED street lighting project: find out how SX Lighting can help

To make an LED street lighting project, it is essential to have knowledge of the regulations and standards of this process. Those responsible for hiring this service in municipalities and states need to be aware of how it works. Only then is it possible to be able to guarantee an interesting bidding for the state accounts.

In an interview, João Pedro Freire, engineer and commercial director of SX Lighting, talks about everything related to the LED street lighting project, discusses regulations, and how they apply. If you want to know more, keep reading this article. Let’s get started?

Who can use public lighting standards?

The standards that deal with street lighting are documents that should be used by entities responsible for this process. According to the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988, street lighting is a responsibility entrusted to the city hall.

Thus, it is the organization that must take care of the process of hiring partner companies, through bidding, and executing projects to improve service quality.

According to João Pedro, when an LED street lighting project is implemented, it is possible to “stabilize lighting levels and uniformity in the municipality, generating a greater sense of security.” In addition, this technology promotes cost reduction, as it is more effective and uses less energy.

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What are the current problems with public lighting?

Street lighting is a chronic problem, and municipalities end up with unnecessary costs to maintain outdated equipment. Today, the most observed problems in this service are:

• Low lighting quality with frequent failures;
• Unqualified and robust equipment;
• Recurrent corrective maintenance;
• Non-compliance with ABNT NBR 5101 standard

How is it possible to solve these lighting problems?

“LED luminaires solve problems with durability, lighting, and also bring savings,” says João Pedro. With this technology, the city hall can make intelligent resource management and still gain citizens’ trust. LED allows for optimizing energy efficiency: more brightness with fewer luminaires.

For the city hall to be able to solve the problem, it must first execute some good practices. Without them, it is impossible to start a project and improve the city’s energy efficiency. The person responsible for the process should:

• Inventory the road model;
• Promote unification of streets into models;
• Simulate the need for lighting in 3D;
• Define the Reference Term;
• Open a bidding process notice.

What are the definitions of lighting in ABNT NBR 5101?

The ABNT NBR 5101 standard was created in 2016 and replaced the previous one, which dated from 2012. Despite being a short time, there have been some important changes in regulation since technology for public lighting projects has advanced rapidly with digital transformation. Check out two of the most significant changes in NBR 5101 below.

Classification of roads

In the new standardization, the luminaire classification is defined considering three variables:

• Longitudinal distribution;
• Control of the distribution of luminous intensity in space, considering above the 80-degree and 90-degree cones, where the vertex coincides with the luminaire’s optical center.
• Transversal distribution.

This last item was included with the new NBR 5101 standard. In it, the maximum half-intensity line may exceed LLV 1.0 AM, partially or entirely. However, this line must not exceed LLV 1.75 AM in the area of the three vertical distribution categories.

Lighting levels

The second point that was changed relates to lighting levels. “The standards must be adapted to the description of the roadway and the lighting class, which is its decoding,” explains João Pedro. Additionally, he emphasizes that “for some specific cases where they are not roads or streets, it is important to consult item 6 of ABNT 5101.” This is necessary because each roadway/street will require a different level of lighting

What is regulated by Inmetro Ordinance No. 20?

Inmetro Ordinance No. 20 “specifies and defines the minimum requirements for a roadway/street lighting luminaire”, clarifies João Pedro. However, he also notes that it could be more robust to meet the needs of the current lighting park. Considering the provisions of this ordinance and NBR 5101, let’s assume that we are analyzing a street lighting project.

The roadway to be analyzed has a central median, with two lanes in both directions, a bike lane, and pedestrian crossings. In this scenario, SX Lighting would recommend the use of LED luminaires with medium photometry, with power according to the roadway and regulatory standards, and with a lifespan of 100,000 hours.

According to João Pedro, there is currently no specification in Ordinance 20 or NBR 5101 regarding the color temperature that should be used for a luminaire. “The tendency is to use luminaires with more neutral or warm colors,” reinforces João Pedro.

How to apply regulations to public lighting projects?

You saw that public lighting presents various problems. With a project underway, it is essential to ensure that regulations are implemented. This can only be done by a specialized company with market experience. At SX Lighting, we use the DIALux software to develop the project.

This application allows the LED public lighting project to precisely consider the regulations. In addition, the client receives a complete report and can also view the project model in 3D. This allows them to better understand the application of the proposal and see the benefits.

SX Lighting has already served over six thousand clients and delivered over 900,000 lighting points. We have partners throughout Brazil, in addition to our own manufacturing. “All of our product development is with exclusive design, and we also place great emphasis on usability,” highlights João Pedro Freire. With this, we can deliver the best solution in LED public lighting projects.

Count on our expertise to optimize energy efficiency in your city. Contact us and request your quote.