Overview

“Project LED Street Lights” typically refers to a full-lifecycle deployment of roadway and outdoor-area lighting—covering audits, design, product selection, procurement, installation, smart controls, and post-commissioning maintenance. This guide walks you through every step so municipalities, contractors, industrial parks, campuses, and developers can deliver a compliant, energy-efficient, and future-ready lighting project.

1) Define Objectives & Success Metrics

Start by aligning stakeholders (owner, designer, installer, O&M team) on clear targets:

• Safety & visibility: Meet/ exceed local standards (e.g., typical average illuminance: 5–30 lux depending on road class), uniformity, glare control.

• Efficiency: Target system efficacy ≥130 lm/W, energy savings ≥60% vs. legacy HPS/MH, and dimming schedules.

• Reliability: L70 ≥ 50,000–100,000 hours, driver MTBF, surge protection, ingress protection.

• Sustainability: Dark-sky practices (full cutoff optics, proper CCT), recyclability, and measurable CO₂ reduction.

• Smart capability: Controls (NEMA 7-pin/ Zhaga Book 18), remote monitoring, adaptive dimming, open protocols.

• Budget & schedule: Capex/ Opex modeling, phased rollouts, milestone-based acceptance tests.

Key deliverable: Project Brief with KPIs, road classifications, asset count, timeline, and budget.

2) Site Audit & Baseline

Capture current conditions to inform the design and ROI case:

• Asset inventory: Existing luminaires (lamp type, wattage), pole heights, outreach/arm length, spacing, foundations, and feeder circuits.

• Photometric performance: Nighttime spot checks for average/ minimum lux, uniformity (E_min/E_avg), glare observations.

• Electrical: Panel locations, cable sizes, voltage drops, power quality, earthing, and switching schemes.

• Environment: Road widths, intersection density, pedestrian crossings, trees/obstructions, fog/ dust prevalence.

• Pain points: Dark spots, high failure rates, vandalism, high maintenance areas.

Key deliverable: Baseline Audit Report with annotated maps and photos.

3) Lighting Design & Calculations

Translate objectives into a compliant photometric design using .ies files from shortlisted fixtures.

• Road classes & targets (typical):

  • Residential streets: 5–10 lux avg, good uniformity, low glare.

  • Urban collectors: 10–20 lux avg.

  • Highways/arterials: 20–30 lux avg; strict glare/ veiling luminance limits.

• Optics selection: Type II/III for roadways, Type IV for perimeter/ parking edges, Type V for open areas.

• Pole parameters: Common heights 6–12 m; spacing 3–5× mounting height is a starting point—refine via calculations.

• CCT & CRI: 3000–5000K depending on policy (3000–4000K helps reduce skyglow; CRI ≥70 for roads, ≥80 near pedestrian zones).

• Glare control: Use full cutoff/ flat glass optics; manage UGR/ TI (threshold increment) per standard.

Key deliverables: Calculation summaries (avg/min lux, uniformity, max glare), layout drawings, pole schedules.

4) Fixture & Component Specification (What to Put in the RFP)

Write a performance-based spec to ensure apples-to-apples bids:

Luminaire

• Efficacy: ≥130–160 lm/W at system level.

• Lifetime: L70 ≥ 100,000 h @ 25–35°C; TM-21 projection provided.

• Housing: Die-cast aluminum with powder coat; IP66 (optics & driver), IK08/IK09 impact.

• Optics: Field-replaceable lenses; BUG ratings appropriate to reduce spill and skyglow.

• CCT/CRI: 3000/4000/5000K options; CRI ≥70 (≥80 in pedestrian areas).

• Surge protection: 10 kV line-line / 10–20 kV line-earth SPD, replaceable.

• Driver: High PF (≥0.9), THD ≤10–15%, 0–10V/ DALI-2 dimming; ambient rating up to 50°C where needed.

• Controls: NEMA 7-pin or Zhaga socket, photocell/Node ready; DLC/ TALQ/ open-API compatibility if requested.

• Certifications: CE/ RoHS (EU) or UL/ETL (NA), and relevant test data (LM-79, LM-80, TM-21).

• Warranty: 5–10 years with lumen maintenance/ driver coverage.

Poles & Brackets

• Material: Hot-dip galvanized steel or aluminum; ISO 1461 galvanizing or equivalent.

• Wind loading: Designed to local wind maps with safety factors; door/ cable management.

• Foundations: Civil drawings for rebar cage and anchor bolts; soil bearing assumptions.

Wiring & Ancillaries

• Cabling sized for voltage drop ≤3–5%; fused cut-outs at base; SPD at panel if required.

• Smart gateways/ repeaters: Mesh or cellular backhaul; cybersecurity requirements.

Key deliverable: Detailed Performance Specification & Bill of Quantities (BoQ).

5) Selecting Wattage & Lumens (Quick Rules of Thumb)

Because LEDs vary by efficacy, specify lumens, not just watts. Typical pairings at 130–150 lm/W:

Finalize through photometric simulations considering spacing, optics, and local standards.

6) Controls Strategy (Save Energy Without Sacrificing Safety)

• Photocell dusk-to-dawn as baseline.

• Scheduled dimming: e.g., 100% at peak, 70% after 22:00, 50% after 01:00.

• Adaptive sensors: Motion-activated brightening on low-traffic roads and paths.

• Remote management (CMS): Asset maps, burn hours, failure alerts, kWh logging, and dimming profiles.

• Open standards: Favor DALI-2, TALQ-compliant platforms, or documented APIs to avoid lock-in.

7) ROI & Funding Model

Build a simple total-cost model:

• Capex: Fixtures, poles, civil works, wiring, controls, commissioning.

• Opex: Energy (kWh × tariff), maintenance (truck rolls, parts), CMS fees.

• Savings: 60–70% energy reduction vs. HPS/MH; fewer relamps; smarter truck rolls via remote fault detection.

• Payback: Often 3–6 years; may shorten with incentives/ carbon credits/ performance contracting (ESCO).

Key deliverable: Financial model with sensitivity analysis (tariff changes, dimming levels, failure rates).

8) Procurement & Vendor Evaluation

Score vendors using a weighted matrix:

• Compliance to spec (photometrics, efficacy, lifetime claims).

• Independent test reports (LM-79/80, TM-21), reliability/ MTBF data.

• Control system openness, security posture, and integration support.

• Past references, warranty terms, local service presence, spare parts availability.

• Total cost of ownership, not just unit price.

Request pilot installations (5–20 luminaires) on a representative street to validate glare, uniformity, and node connectivity before full award.

9) Installation & Quality Assurance

• Pre-install checks: Compare delivered part numbers, SPD presence, sockets, optics, and CCT to submittals.

• Electrical works: Proper torque on terminals, weatherproof joints, correct earthing, and labeled circuits.

• Aiming & tilt: Follow design tilt; verify with a digital inclinometer to maintain photometric intent.

• Commissioning: Burn-in test, node registration to CMS, verify schedules, alarms, and data flows.

• As-builts: Update drawings, GIS tags, QR/ RFID labels for every asset.

Acceptance tests: Nighttime lux audits, random pole inspections, CMS screenshots, and punch list closure.

10) Operations, Maintenance & Warranty

• Preventive maintenance: Annual door/ gasket checks, photocell/ node verification, sample lux checks on critical corridors.

• Data-driven O&M: Use CMS alarms and energy reports to schedule targeted truck rolls.

• Spare strategy: 2–5% spare luminaires/ drivers/ SPDs; stock photocells/ nodes.

• Performance review: Track failure rates, lumen depreciation indicators (from light meter samplings), and adjust dimming for seasons/ events.

• Warranty claims: Keep serials, installation dates, and fault logs to streamline RMA.

Mini Case Template (Use for Your Proposal/ Website)

• Client & Scope: City X—2,300 luminaires across 18 km.

• Design: 8–12 m poles, Type III optics, 4000K, average 15–22 lux.

• Controls: NEMA 7-pin nodes, CMS with scheduled dimming (100% → 70% at 22:00 → 50% at 01:00).

• Outcome: 68% energy savings, payback 4.1 years, improved uniformity (E_min/E_avg ≥0.4), 24/7 fault monitoring.

Sample BoQ (Excerpt)

1. LED street luminaire, 120 W, 16,000 lm, IP66/IK09, Type III optics, SPD 20 kV, 4000K, NEMA 7-pin — Qty 650

2. LED street luminaire, 80 W, 11,000 lm, same spec — Qty 980

3. Hot-dip galvanized steel poles, 10 m, with single outreach arm — Qty 900

4. Photocells/ CMS nodes (NEMA), gateways, licenses — Lot

5. Cabling, bases, earthing, cut-outs, labels — Lot

6. Installation, testing, commissioning, training — Lot

Checklist Before Tender

• Baseline audit complete, with map layers

• Photometric design & compliance summary

• Performance-based spec, not brand-locked

• Controls & data requirements (security, APIs)

• ROI model and funding pathway

• Pilot validation plan and acceptance tests

• Warranty & service level terms

Conclusion

A successful project LED street light  is more than swapping luminaires—it’s a coordinated program that blends photometric science, robust hardware, smart controls, and rigorous QA. By specifying performance (not part numbers), validating with pilots, and operating with data-driven maintenance, you’ll deliver safer roads, lower energy bills, and a scalable platform for future smart-city services.