LEDs — Transportation Signals

GE LED traffic and rail signals replace older incandescent units to better meet the critical 24/7 reliability needs of municipalities, rail yards and transit operators.

Benefits of advancerd LED technology in these 365-day-a-year devices include recurring energy savings and lower maintenance.

GE Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are compound semiconductor devices that convert electricity to light. In fact, GE scientists invented the first practical application of LEDs in the 1960s. LEDs are vastly different from traditional incandescent, fluorescent and neon light sources.

Unlike lamps that can shatter, LEDs are robust and highly resistant to shock and vibration. Due to the solid-state nature of these devices, there are no filaments to break, no moving parts to fail and no glass components of any kind. With LEDs, breakage during transportation, installation or operation — a common problem with traditional light sources — is virtually eliminated, speeding up installation times and installer training.

The benefits of using LEDs vary depending on the application, but typical technology features include:

» Up to 90 percent energy-cost savings

» A long life of up to 50,000 hours

» Minimized maintenance hassles and costs

» Low-voltage operation

» Excellent cold-weather performance

Many of GE's LEDs are Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and National Science Foundation (NSF) compliant and recognized by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL). GE's unique design provides an environmental benefit because it has no UV, no infrared, no glass and no mercury, making handling and disposal less of a concern.

LEDs have applications in retail displays, signage and architecture, and transportation.

LED signals

Ever-demanding traffic and rail signal applications require constant reliability 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. By applying GE LED signals in place of older fluorescent or incandescent technologies, municipalities, rail yards and transit operators can benefit from energy savings and lower maintenance costs.

A municipality replacing standard incandescent lamps at 100 intersections (having an average of 42.5 lamps replaced per intersection) with GE Red, Yellow and Green LED Traffic signal modules uses approximately 93 percent less energy. The CO2 savings for one year would be equivalent to the CO2 absorbed each year by approximately 300 acres of trees or the annual removal of 210 cars from U.S. roads.

The State of Kentucky recently switched 77,000 units in over 3,000 intersections from standard incandescent lamps to GE LED traffic signal modules and now projects annual savings of US$ 1.7 million from reduced energy costs and US$ 1.5 million in reduced maintenance and lifecycle costs.

What's next for LEDs?

According to industry sources, the LED industry grew nearly 50 percent year-over-year between 1995 and 2004, and its growth trajectory between 2004 and 2009 is expected to nearly double, from US$ 3.7 billion to 7.3 billion. Many industry observers would attribute these high-growth forecasts to the low penetration of LEDs in general illumination (1 percent), signage (5 percent) and transportation (25 percent) applications.