What You Need to Know Before Buying LED Street Lights

With the continuous improvement of energy-saving and environmental protection awareness, LED street lights have become the preferred lighting solution for urban lighting, industrial parks, and community roads due to their advantages of high efficiency, energy saving, long life, and low maintenance costs. There are many brands and models of LED street lights on the market, and the quality and performance vary. If you want to buy a cost-effective LED street light that suits your needs, you must understand the following 10 key points.

1. Power and Lumen: Choose the right balance between brightness and energy consumption
Many people only look at the power (wattage) when purchasing LED street lights. In fact, they should pay more attention to the lumen value (Lumen), which represents the actual luminous intensity. For lamps with the same wattage, the higher the lumen, the better the light effect and the lower the energy consumption.
For example, a 100-watt LED street light with a lumen value of more than 13,000 lumens is a high-efficiency product.
The correct choice should determine the brightness based on the width of the road and the lighting needs to avoid safety affected by insufficient light or light pollution and energy waste caused by excessive light.

2. Color temperature selection: choose the most suitable light color according to the scene
The color temperature of LED street lights is usually expressed in Kelvin (K):

3000K-4000K is warm white or natural white light, with soft light, suitable for residential areas or sidewalks and other areas with high comfort requirements;

5000K-6500K is cold white or daylight color, with strong brightness and high clarity, more suitable for main roads, highways and industrial areas, improving night vision clarity and ensuring traffic safety.

Choosing a suitable color temperature not only affects the visual experience, but also affects the practicality and environmental atmosphere of street lights.

3. Light distribution angle: matching the actual needs of the road section
Different sections have different requirements for the distribution shape of light. Common light distribution types are:

Type II (linear distribution): suitable for narrow roads or sidewalks, with light extending along the road surface;

Type III (elliptical distribution): suitable for medium-width streets with a wide illumination range;

Type V (circular uniform distribution): suitable for squares, intersections and large open areas with uniform lighting.

Choosing the right light distribution angle can make the road brightness more uniform, reduce shadows, and improve safety.

4. Energy efficiency ratio (Lm/W): high lumen and low energy consumption are the best
One of the core advantages of LED street lights is energy saving. Pay attention to the product's lumen per watt (lm/W) index. The higher the value, the more light is output for every watt of electricity consumed.
At present, the energy efficiency of high-quality LED street lights is generally between 130-160 lm/W, and some high-end products are even higher. High energy efficiency not only saves electricity bills, but also reduces carbon emissions, which is in line with the trend of green lighting.

5. Protection level (IP): Ensure that street lights operate stably in harsh environments
LED street lights are installed outdoors and must have good dust and water resistance.
IP65 and above protection levels can effectively block dust and rain intrusion, ensure the safe and stable operation of electronic components, and extend service life.
Products below IP65 are easily damaged by rain or dust, resulting in frequent maintenance or even scrapping.

6. Material quality: Durable aluminum alloy shell is the first choice
High-quality LED street lights mostly use high-strength aluminum alloy die-cast shells, which have the characteristics of fast heat dissipation, corrosion resistance, and strong weathering resistance.
Good heat dissipation design is the key to ensuring the life of LED chips and stable light efficiency. Poor-quality plastic shells are prone to aging and deformation, affecting the performance of lamps.

7. Service life and warranty: It is more worry-free to choose long-life products
The life of LED street lights provided by regular manufacturers is usually more than 50,000 hours. Calculated based on 10 hours of use per day, it can be used for more than 13 years.
At the same time, the warranty service of more than 5 years can effectively guarantee subsequent maintenance, so that users have no worries.
Avoid buying low-priced products with short warranty periods and no after-sales guarantee, which are likely to lead to higher repair and replacement costs in the long run.

8. Intelligent control function: towards smart city lighting
Modern LED street lights are gradually equipped with intelligent functions, including:

Light sensing and human body sensing: realize on-demand dimming and further energy saving;

Remote monitoring management system: real-time monitoring of street light status and timely troubleshooting;

Time switch and dimming: adjust brightness according to different time periods to reduce waste.

Intelligence not only improves management efficiency, but also meets the needs of smart city construction.

9. Certification standards: ensure product safety and performance compliance
Choose products that have passed international or regional certifications, such as CE, RoHS, UL, DLC, ENEC, etc., which means that the product meets the standards in terms of safety, environmental protection and energy efficiency.

Uncertified products may have quality risks, high risks of use, and are prone to safety accidents.

10. Price and value: Make decisions based on total cost
When purchasing LED street lights, you cannot just look at the unit price. The total cost of ownership (TCO) is the key to measuring value, including:

Initial purchase costs

Electricity expenses

Maintenance and replacement costs

High-quality and efficient LED street lights, although the initial investment is high, the savings brought by energy saving and long life make it pay back within a few years, and the long-term benefits are obvious.