New Zealand road lighting conference returns in 2015

Road Lighting 2015, to be held from 9-10 March in Auckland, will help New Zealand road lighting authorities learn about LED road lighting developments that could halve the country’s road lighting costs. The event is organised by Strategic Lighting Partners (SLP) and last year won the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand’s annual award for a special event.

Road Lighting 2015 will feature international experts with first-hand experience of switching to efficient road lighting. According to SLP directors Godfrey Bridger and Bryan King, “LED lighting could save up to 50% or more of the energy currently consumed on road lighting, and white LED lighting significantly improves road visibility and driver reaction times.”

New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) last year supported the conference due to the significant savings involved in the installation of LED lighting. The EECA will once again be supporting the event in 2015.

“If New Zealand’s road lights were switched from high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting to LED road lighting, it would save the country about 100 GWh of electricity a year - enough to power more than 11,000 homes,” said EECA General Manager, Business Greg Visser.

“International experience indicates that energy savings could be increased even further if the switch to LED road lighting is accompanied by a switch to modern lighting control systems that allow for ‘adaptive’ dimming and brightening of road lights to suit the prevailing conditions, from traffic density to weather.

“EECA is keen to help communicate these findings to road-controlling authorities in New Zealand so that switching to efficient lighting can be considered in future plans and New Zealand keeps up with the rest of the world in adopting this technology.”

Bridger and King said the 2015 conference will “build on concepts of liveable cities and the sustainable night economy”. More information can be found at http://roadlightingconference.com/.