Genlux Lighting recently completed contracts for the manufacture and supply of energy-saving LED lights to replace less efficient older technology lights at two locations on the N2 national highway in the Eastern Cape – a 14 km stretch of the highway in Port Elizabeth and at the Tsitsikamma Toll Plaza near Storms River.
Genlux won both contracts against stiff competition from other local LED light manufacturers and suppliers.
The contract for the streetlights in Port Elizabeth was awarded in June this year by one of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s approved streetlights maintenance contractors. Also in June, Genlux supplied the lights – a total of 1400 of them – and the contractor installed them.
Genlux’s GEN 2 LED streetlights replaced High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights.
The high luminosity GEN 2 streetlights, which are designed for lighting multi-lane arterial roads, were installed between the Swartkops offramp near Bluewater Bay on the east to Baywest on the western side of the city.
The 180Watt GEN 2 streetlights represent an energy saving of 62.9% compared with the 400Watt HPS luminaires they replaced.
“Not only are LED lights great energy-savers, but they are also significantly brighter and longer lasting than the older technology lights,” said Sello Tsoai, Genlux’s General Manager.
A further advantage of LED lights is that their colour rendition is far superior to that of HPS lights and the other older lighting system, High-Intensity Discharge (HID).
“What this means is that visibility of anything and anyone seen under LED lights is much clearer than under the others. This contributes to improved safety on the roads and is also better from a security point of view in many types of situations,” Sello commented.
The contract for the Tsitsikamma Toll Plaza was to upgrade it from HID to LED lighting. The contract was awarded to Genlux in March this year by an electrical contractor approved by Tolcon, the owner and operator of the plaza.
The LED lights for the plaza comprise three types of lights – streetlights, floodlights and bulkhead lights.
Genlux chose the luminaires in accordance with best practise and ran a lighting simulation of their design at the Genlux plant in Driehoek, Germiston, to confirm the correct luminosity of the floodlights and streetlights before supplying them for installation by the contractor. Once the installation was completed, verification was done with a calibrated lux meter to confirm the installation was in accordance to specification and design.
“The GEN 1 streetlights are of differing light intensities, with those furthest from the plaza being of relatively low lumen output and then building up in luminosity as they get closer to the plaza. This enables motorists to acclimatise their eyes to the light as they approach the plaza where the light is brightest and adjusting to re-entering the dark as they leave,” explained Jack Carne, Genlux’s Area Manager for the Eastern Cape
The floodlights to light the exterior of the plaza and the area surrounding it are also GEN 1 lights, but are fitted with different optic lenses from the streetlights to light up the area they cover as fully and widely as possible. The function of Genlux’s wall-mounted Vulcan bulkhead lights, which are mounted on pillars, is to illuminate the paypoints to allow operators to have a clear view of the motorists while paying.
The LED lights went into operation at the plaza on completion of installation and testing in early-May.
