Siemens Mobility Limited has completed a retrofit upgrade of traffic signals for Transport for London (TfL), with the programme set to deliver energy and cost savings of over 75%, as well as significantly reducing the need for regular maintenance visits to replace and clean lamps.
Covering 161 crossings and junctions in London Boroughs and ‘red routes’ across the north and north east of the city, the project has seen existing incandescent traffic signals upgraded with Siemens Mobility LED central light source (CLS) technology, which consumes an average of just 9W across a typical dim/bright cycle.
The retrofit upgrade has enabled the existing roadside infrastructure to be retained, while providing TfL with low maintenance, long-life, energy-efficient LED signals that provide improved visibility in all weather and lighting conditions. The programme was completed in just three months.
Glynn Barton, TfL's Director of Network Management, said: “We’re responsible for traffic lights in London and they play a vital role in keeping people safe and keeping London moving. We’re always striving to improve our network, be more efficient and safer, and replacing the traditional bulbs in signals with LEDs has made a real difference. It’s making our infrastructure greener, more sustainable and cheaper to run and not only that but as LEDs are more visible it is making our roads safer, which will help achieve our goal of no deaths or serious injuries on London’s roads by 2041 and encourage more people to walk or cycle.”
Wilke Reints, Managing Director of Intelligent Traffic Systems for Siemens Mobility in the UK, said: “This is one of a number of LED retrofit programmes we have carried out for authorities across the UK.
“Retrofit solutions are a cost-effective way to significantly reduce energy bills and future proof traffic signal installations against the expected sales ban of incandescent traffic signal bulbs in the coming years. With this retrofit solution, we are helping Transport bodies and Local Authorities to keep their transport networks running both efficiently and cost effectively.”
He continued: “Our work has seen the retrofit of some 6,230 red amber and green signals, 950 regulatory box signs and 1,840 push buttons. It follows a major retrofit programme in 2018, when we retrofitted 25,000 older signals with new LED technology at over 900 sites, and underlines TfL’s commitment to sustainability.”
Many traffic signals operating in the UK are still fitted with traditional, inefficient incandescent signal lamps, which as well as consuming large amounts of power, need to be regularly replaced.
Interest-free Government funding is available to help the public sector improve energy efficiency, making the decision to move to the proven efficiency gains of LED technology even more affordable.
