Malacca switches to LED street lights to save power

MALACCA: The Malacca government is switching to light-emitting diode (LED) street lights in stages in an effort to save electricity and towards more sustainable development.
State Housing, Local Government and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ismail Othman said the effort would be carried out by four local authorities, starting with Malacca Historic City Council (MBMB).
He said so far more than 1,000 LED street lights had been installed in tourist areas including Bandar Hilir and Klebang.
"We are very serious in applying green technology which is a state government objective," he told reporters after the "Earth Hour Night Walk" programme here on Saturday night.
Malacca's effort is seen as being in tune with worldwide trends to switch to LED street lights solution.
In the United States, 10% of public lighting has already been switched to LED.
While several areas in the Klang Valley have switched to LED lighting solution, including roads around the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, almost all street lights elsewhere in the country utilises the dull yellow high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights.
HPS lamps, while remaining popular since its introduction in the 1970s, are however known to display numerous deficiencies as compared with white LED light sources, including doubling driver's peripheral vision and increasing brake reaction time 25%.
HPS lights also have trouble to accurately reproduce colours and are less cost-effective.
LED bulbs have also been proven to take a longer time to burn out, hence last longer, besides also providing brighter and greater illumination that creates safer driving at night.