Hamburg needs significantly less electricity for street lighting thanks to LEDs
The lamps in German streets are gradually being replaced. In Hamburg, concrete figures show how much this is achieving.
Hamburg as seen from the ISS on March 17, 2022.
(Bild: NASA)
In Hamburg, the electricity consumption of streetlights has fallen by 30 percent since 2020 due to the increasing use of LEDs. This also applies to traffic lights and illuminated traffic signs, where the savings achieved with LED lamps were 69 and 83 percent respectively. This is according to an answer from the Hamburg Senate (PDF) to a minor question from Rosa Domm, climate policy spokesperson for the Green Party parliamentary group.
Street lighting and floodlighting in Hamburg consumed 34,867,965 kWh of electricity 24 years ago, compared to 24,511,191 kWh last year. Traffic lights consumed 4,602,324 kWh in 2023 compared to 14,945,610 kWh in 2000, illuminated traffic signs consumed 379,362 kWh of electricity last year, compared to 2,249,222 kWh 24 years ago.
Light pollution, insect mortality
The number of streetlights in Hamburg fell from 110,463 in 2020 to 118,488 last year, while the number of traffic lights fell from 1,689 to 1,760 in the same period. While the proportion of LED traffic lights is now 81 percent, according to the Senate, it is 20 percent among lighting systems, illuminated traffic signs and special lighting.
In addition to lower power consumption, LEDs also reduce light pollution and protect against insects. In Bremen, for example, in an ongoing project to convert public lighting to LED, only luminaires that do not emit light into the upper half of the room are being used. A light color of 3000 K is selected for all luminaires, as this attracts fewer insects. Such aspects are also considered in Hamburg.
In Baden-Württemberg, all streetlights must be insect-friendly by 2030, while Hamburg plans to have around 90 percent of its lights equipped with LED technology by 2035.
(anw)