Australia’s Road Lighting Standards –
into the energy efficiency age
by
Alec Fisher Chair Standards Committee
Lighting for roads and public spaces
Into the energy efficiency age
WHAT ROAD LIGHTING ?
 There are about 2 million luminaires in service in Australia
 30% are on main roads - Cat V and 70% on local roads - Cat P
 Cat V - 250/400W lamps, Cat P - 40/80W lamps  energy ~ equal
 Projected increase 1.5-2% per annum - 45% over past 14 years
 Costs - ~$10 a resident, ~$1m LG budget, 1-2% LG outlays
Into the energy efficiency age
HOW IS ENERGY EFFICIENCY BEING MANDATED?
• Originally part of the AGO Greenlight program
• To be implemented by compliance requirements in Standards
- AS/NZS 1158 Lighting for roads and public spaces
• Traffic route lighting Category V
- MEPs in W/m for HPS and MV for Cat V1 to V5
- Maximum ballast loss
-‘Encourage’ service providers to replace low efficacy HPM (~30% of total)
• Pedestrian lighting Category P
- ‘Encourage’ good practice
- Trials of energy efficient luminaires
Into the energy efficiency age
RECENT AMENDMENT OF 1158.1.1 CATEGORY V
LAMP REQUIREMENTS
 Normally lamps used in Category V lighting schemes shall be HPS lamps
 Where either the client or the lighting designer has documented
that the colour rendering characteristics or colour appearance
characteristics of HPS lamps are inadequate for the application,
in which case MH lamps shall be used.
 Applications where MH is deemed to be necessary include the following:
- Cat V lighting in town and city centres.
- Cat V lighting in or close to retail, commercial or entertainment precincts.
 The use of HPM lamps in Category V lighting schemes is not permitted.
 Ballast losses not greater than in 1158.6 Luminaires
Into the energy efficiency age
Energy efficiency in Cat P
Cat P - large potential gains with newest CF and T5 lamps
plus electronic ballasts
Energy usage by lamp type (including control gear)
Lamp CFL 42W
Energy
47W
T5 2x14W
30W
HPM 80W
89W
TF 2x20W
50W
Into the energy efficiency age
But are they reliable?
st
Equivalent 1 year failure rates from trial of
1175 T5 (20 months) and 250 CFL luminaires (17 months)
Luminaire
Lamp failures %
2x14W T5 trial
1.6
42W CFL trial
1.7
80W HPM historical
3.2
ECG failures %
0.5
0.6
NA
Results indicate no technical bar to use
Into the energy efficiency age
What about lighting performance?
Indicative spacings for the different luminaires –
H = 7.5m Road reserve = 20m
Luminaire
Category P3
Category P4
2 x 14W T5
26.1m
65.7m
81.9m
42W CFL
36.7m
70.6m
84.1m
2 x 24W T5
41.8m
74.5m
89.1m
80W HPM
43.7m
71.5m
87.2m
2 x 20W T8
-
17.9m
Category P5
48.9m
Into the energy efficiency age
RECENT AMENDMENT OF 1158.3.1 CAT P
Luminaire Type 4

The intensity at any angle of azimuth shall be not more than—
(i) 720 cd in total or 180 cd/1000 lamp lumens, whichever is the
greater, at a vertical angle of 80°
(ii) 300 cd in total or 80 cd/1000 lamp lumens, whichever is the
greater, at a vertical angle of 90°.
 The changes are necessary because the original criteria inadvertently
technically disadvantaged luminaires with energy efficient lamps, i.e. T5 and
CFL. The change to absolute cd units is based on the in-service 80 W HPM.
 The new luminaires have cd values much below that value. The original
criteria are retained for the higher wattage luminaires.
 T5 and CFL to be included in 1158.6 Luminaires
 Ballast losses set by regulation
Into the energy efficiency age
 NSW - with the encouraging results of the trials, Energy Australia has
offered its customers the choice of the luminaires using CFL and T5 lamps.
Over the next six years a program to replace 60 000 obsolescent
2x20W TF luminaires will be implemented
 What is happening in other States?
Queensland - 3year trial of 300 luminaires,
fully instrumented, continuously monitored
Victoria - 300k 80w HPM luminaires; recent
cost determination by regulator; Councils can
proceed at own pace; 32W CFL favoured
Tasmania – T5 favoured
South Australia?
Western Australia?
 Overall we have not proceeded far into the energy efficiency
age in public lighting
Into the energy efficiency age
ARE THERE OTHER POTENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES?
 Zero upward light – cut-off lighting requires more points
- UWL Cat V 1% and Cat P 5%
 Lower light level – 1158 light level low (Cat V) to
very low (Cat P) compared to CE and EU
 Dimming or switching out for reduced traffic/late hours
– Cat V is good accident counter measure
 LED lighting – still developing and untried in field
 Solar power – isolated rural sites only
 Cat V lamp ballasts
In Australia efficient lamps give best viable option
IN PERSPECTIVE AUS ROAD LIGHTING
IS IN GOOD SHAPE COMPARED TO
THAT IN SOME COUNTRIES!