There is a large effort across the United States to replace traditional light bulbs with LED lights. LED lights last longer, use less power, and are more efficient. Some of the areas where they have become prevalent include flashlights, vehicle lights, and traffic lights. Unfortunately, while these new innovations do perform as expected, there are benefits to the traditional lights that are often overlooked.
In 2009 Wisconsin had deployed some of these newer traffic lights. In December, as the winter came on full, the value of inefficiency became apparent. Traditional lights draw more power than they release in light. The remaining power is released as heat. With the new efficient lights, there is no heat release. As such, the ice and snow that falls during a storm builds up on the lights obscuring the glow. Without the heat to melt it the traffic lights vanish in the storm. City workers have had to resort to climbing up and scraping the ice during the storms to keep the roads safe.
While the new lights have saved thousands in electricity bills, thee benefit of the inefficiency of the older bulbs was never considered and the lack of heat created it's own problems. A final solution is still pending.
-Professor Walter
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