L.E.D. Light Towers...

[SeaMac]

Yet again,

Another thread created with no real proper forum to post in. I think it's fair to say we have all encountered light towers, mostly the lights are a gang of four (4) where one or more usually doesn't work. Alas, there is a solution Light Emitting Diodes (LED) with LED's not only do you get far and away more light, you also get it at a great cost savings in fuel.

The average light tower sports four 400 Watt Metal-Halide lamps with associated ballasts and being made of glass they do not fancy being towed around on a pintle hitch behind a pickup, stowed upon the back of a flatbed truck or slung about on the forks of a loader. They were never intended to be mobile, rather they prefer to be perched atop light poles at a car dealership. The average life expectancy of a given metal-halide lamp is approximately 5000 - 7000 hours and that again is considering a FIXED location. These lamps and ballast are not cheap by any means to replace.

Now, with an LED light tower they are immune to movement save for a hurricane or earthquake, cost pennies to operate and will last on average 50,000 - 70,000 hours. Yes, you read that right and no, I'm not bull.... I am an Electrical Contractor too. True enough, the initial cost is high and in the past the color spectrum was so glaringly white it bordered on blue. Lighting manufacturers have since rectified the color issue and through what is called "binning" the color across the led board will be consistent.

Now about cost, yes they are expensive but only your great grandchildren will need be concerned with replacing one that burned out. Then there's the fuel cost, since most light towers run on diesel and we all know that particular petroleum by-product is now thought of as gold by Big Oil, we'd surely rather use less not more. An LED light tower will astound you with how little fuel it would use AND the genset providing the spark to make light could be much smaller as well, so now we have a fuel and weight savings which in short order will assuredly offset the initial cost tremendously.

In summary, LED lighting is here to stay, you see it more and more on cars, trucks even heavy equipment. We have a new bridge here with all LED street lighting and the view is amazing so it won't be long before LED light towers will be on a jobsite near you if not already. Oh yeah, another nicety of LED's they attract less bugs...

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[John C.]

This issue seen with LED lighting in the northern latitudes is that it provides no heat. Ice and snow build up on the supporting structures and the lights them selves where the collection can fall off injuring someone or tearing the lighting down directly.

Unfortunately there is less light per day the farther you go north and the weather also degrades earlier in the year for a much longer period of time. Until the icing problem is solved, the largest market for portable lighting will remain a bit skeptical of LEDs.

 

[SeaMac]

John C.

You bring up a good point, one which northern municipalities discovered after changing traffic signals to LED. There is a simple solution for such a problem and it too is far more efficient than metal-halide lighting. The same principal which is applied to automotive rear windows to defrost/defog can be applied to LED light towers, the extra energy only being needed when the weather requires it and still you'll burn less fuel. It can also me thermostatically controlled with no human intervention. What a lot of people aren't aware of is the LED array itself generates very little heat but the driver creates enough to fry an egg, there are some LED street lights available which use a fan to circulate that heat inside the lense bowl which too deals with icing. There are numerous solutions for colder climates. Great point though...

This issue seen with LED lighting in the northern latitudes is that it provides no heat. Ice and snow build up on the supporting structures and the lights them selves where the collection can fall off injuring someone or tearing the lighting down directly.

Unfortunately there is less light per day the farther you go north and the weather also degrades earlier in the year for a much longer period of time. Until the icing problem is solved, the largest market for portable lighting will remain a bit skeptical of LEDs.

 

[390eric]

I like the idea, but always thought about the snow and ice problem. I have a box full of LED red yellow and green lights in my basement. Friend of the family was a public works man in wyoming, the town changed to all l.e.d signs, needless to say they didnt melt the snow and they changed them all back to the old style. So I ended up with a few of the lights and a walk dont walk hanging in the basement.

I always assumed someone would figure out a way to make them melt snow. The technology is just too good not to start using everywhere.

 

[SeaMac]

Yes 390eric,

They are a good idea and one that's here to stay, the next evolution of LED technology is O.L.E.D. and stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode which can be thought of as a sheet that can be formed to any shape desired. If lighting manufacturers get it right and combine European automotive technology like heated windshields which have a thin layer of laminate that can be heated eliminating the horizontal lines commonly found on cars as rear defoggers. Once these two technologies are combined there would no longer be an issue with colder climates and ice or snow forming then clinging to any sort of outdoor lighting.

As far as I'm aware there recently passed a Gov't ban on the continued manufacturing of old-style incandescent light bulbs in the US which are energy hungry, don't last long and in some cases still contain small amounts of mercury which generally speaking, isn't the greatest idea to have accummulating in landfills. There are still some issues to be ironed out but it's being worked on and for the short term LED's make an excellent alternative for most types of lighting. The single biggest advancement has been getting control over the temperature in Kelvin's which is in direct relation to visible color spectrum. Gone are the days when an LED would be so white or hot that it appeared blueish and was extremely harsh on the eyes. Today you can get LED's in virtually every common color spectrum from warm to daylight, some drivers are even dimmable.

When applied to light towers or heavy equipment the end result is extremely robust and long lasting lighting that has the ability to cut through most environmental conditions such as smoke, dust, fog etc. Quite a few equipment manufacturers now offer H.I.D. light options for their machines but High Intensity Discharge lighting has some very real limitations. One being the whole assembly has quite the large footprint, they burn nearly as hot as the Sun itself which tends to cook surrounding paint and can actually melt their own housings. Another concern with HID lighting is they are gas filled just as the metal-halide lamps in light towers and over time that gas breaks down and the light will use more energy to compensate.

 

[diggerop]

We use lots of light towers where I work,3,4 and 6 headers,skid sets and wheel (trailer) sets. Some time ago we had some LED ones here for a trial. One of them was a largish trailer (10'x 7' ?) with batteries inside and solar panels on the top with a small diesel generator for back up to charge the batteries if they got down. There was a couple of panels of LEDs I think and it did give a pretty good light and would go alnight on the batteries. I just googled solar light tower and there is lots out there.

This is a pic of a used light bulb (?) that I souvenired. It's 1000W and is 15 in long. I wouldn't know if it's a Metal-Halide or what but they certainly cook a lot of moths.

 

[SeaMac]

Hi diggerop,

Yep, that's a 1000 watt Metal-Halide lamp and yes they do attract a LOT of bugs. More common 'round here are the 400 watt variety which is much more bulbous in shape. Yes again, there are lot's of 'em available and some are indeed solar powered, it's the cost of them that scares Contractors if they own their own and it'll take a while I'm afraid before the rental companies come around and see the light. It's good to hear from someone who has been around them.

We use lots of light towers where I work,3,4 and 6 headers,skid sets and wheel (trailer) sets. Some time ago we had some LED ones here for a trial. One of them was a largish trailer (10'x 7' ?) with batteries inside and solar panels on the top with a small diesel generator for back up to charge the batteries if they got down. There was a couple of panels of LEDs I think and it did give a pretty good light and would go alnight on the batteries. I just googled solar light tower and there is lots out there.

This is a pic of a used light bulb (?) that I souvenired. It's 1000W and is 15 in long. I wouldn't know if it's a Metal-Halide or what but they certainly cook a lot of moths.

 

[VoodooMojo]

They find that spraying the crap out of them with armor-all keeps the snow and ice from accumulating

 

[SeaMac]

Hi VooDoo,

Thanks for the pics, those are quite nice LED arrays and probably put out all the light one could need. As for the Armor-All approach, that seems like a hassle but hey, what works, works...

View attachment 96165

They find that spraying the crap out of them with armor-all keeps the snow and ice from accumulating

 

[alco]

We tried out a couple of LED light plants last winter. While I like the concept, they didn't project the light nearly as far, and as a result, don't hold any real value for us. I don't know the model number, but I believe they were from Terex. I can say though, the cold didn't seem to affect them, as the lack of distance from the lights was a problem even as things warmed up.

 

[SeaMac]

Alco,

What you refer to is a common shortcoming of old technology LED lighting, even if the tower is new. Contrary to the beliefs of certain lighting engineers you actually do need a reflector specifically designed to work with LED's to cast the light any workable distance. The new LED street lighting uses LED's plus a reflector and being 40+ feet in the air they cast light better than most Metal-Halide or High Pressure Sodium fixtures. The photo below shows a simple LED array which would be applicable for "up close" lighting but would pale in comparison to an array with a reflector. Good point though and something people find out quicky about LED lighting which can at times turm them off to the technology and the benefits it brings...

We tried out a couple of LED light plants last winter. While I like the concept, they didn't project the light nearly as far, and as a result, don't hold any real value for us. I don't know the model number, but I believe they were from Terex. I can say though, the cold didn't seem to affect them, as the lack of distance from the lights was a problem even as things warmed up.

 

[Dualie]

they have completely portable LED light towers for rescue personnel and operations. They are completely housed and self sufficient battery powered units in pelican cases with wheels and handles. They really are the cats pajamas but they are over $1000 each.

I think they might even be rated intrinsically safe for use in highly flammable environments.