Having the correct LED street lighting that is also robust enough for South Africa’s conditions is an essential weapon in the fight against crime as well as in helping reduce the number of road accidents we experience every year.
When streetlights fail, crime rates surge, pedestrians navigate unlit roads with anxiety, and traffic accidents multiply.
An International Journal of Current Research report found that, as street lighting quality improved, fatalities during darkness periods decreased, while research in Science Direct found that, while white light may contribute to higher light pollution, it significantly enhances perceived safety.
According to Willem Schmidt, a product support angineer at Altron Arrow, street lighting in South Africa comes with a whole set of unique challenges for urban and suburban designers as our environmental constraints simply don’t exist in the markets where most imported products are designed: power outages, cable theft, lightning strikes and even exploding substations.
“It’s in these situations that municipalities may be tempted to turn to cheaper imports; products where it becomes obvious that manufacturers have cut costs on surge protection when lightning strikes, for example,” says Schmidt.
Yet he cautions that the cost calculation cannot just be about upfront costs.
“When imported lights fail during power surges or lightning strikes, municipalities face replacement costs, labour expenses and periods where communities are left in darkness,” says Schmidt. Local manufacturers design for these specific stresses, while international products are built for very different environments, he adds.
Turning to a local company for streetlighting needs means not only access to highly regarded brands such as Cree LED (who has since also taken over Samsung’s supply chain), Osram, Ledil, Signify (Philips) but also to field application engineers who receive monthly training sessions to keep up with the latest technology available, ensuring the right advice for the most appropriate solutions for South African conditions.
The science of colour
Colour temperature matters, and its measure – Kelvin – must be carefully considered because it carries real implications for safety and wellbeing, says Schmidt.
He explains that colour temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) on a scale from 1 000 to 10 000. The lower the measurement, the warmer the hue.
In most of Europe, a warm white light of 3 000K is used for streetlights. In the Middle East, cooler light at 4 000K to 5 000K is preferred.
“Our sales show that around 65% of municipalities use 4 000K temperatures while about 32% of our LED sales are at 5 000K,” he says.
The predominant use of neutral white such as what is seen in the Middle East has been shown to be safer for drivers. Using brain activity monitoring, subjective evaluation, and behavioural assessment, researchers at Cornell University found that moderate colour temperatures at 4 500K prove most beneficial.
Drivers experiencing middle-ground lighting reported better mood, maintained more stable alertness, responded more quickly to stimuli, and experienced lower mental and visual fatigue.
In addition, assessments made when selecting street lighting must account for power surge probability, lightning strike intensity, grid reliability, and maintenance resource availability, says Schmidt.
“A product that performs flawlessly in Munich may fail catastrophically in Midrand because it isn’t designed with the right conditions in mind.”
Built-in reliability
The size and shape of the tiny LED component inside the light, and how it is built onto the circuit, is also important, says Schmidt.
In the past, high-output, surface-mount LED 5630 packages were commonly used for efficient, bright, and thermally stable lighting, especially in professional and commercial applications.
Over the past five years there has been a shift to the high-efficiency surface-mount LED 2835 packages because of their consistent, energy-efficient lighting in residential and commercial applications.
For streetlighting and industrial applications, the larger surface-mount LED format 5050 package became the most popular because of the efficacy and cost advantages it brings.
For harsh environments, the more expensive 3535 ceramic base option is still the best, but in South Africa cost is more often the deciding factor. The 3535 package shines because it is a compact, high-power surface-mount LED format designed for high brightness and effective heat management, commonly used in commercial, industrial, and outdoor lighting applications.
“Imported solutions may offer attractive price points, but they’re designed for different realities. South African conditions demand customised South African solutions – choices made with experts who balance safety, reliability, and long-term value. Every properly lit street is another community protected, another journey home made safer,” says Schmidt.