Urban lighting presents challenges for designers

LED installationCarl Gardner, a lighting designer based in the UK whose main focus is on exterior and urban lighting, is involved in a city square regeneration project in the town of Sunderland in the north-east of England. The project, says Gardner, has focused his mind on the issues associated with using LEDs in this type of architectural lighting application.

What are the prospects for LED lighting?
LEDs are now being used in areas where two to three years ago they wouldn't have been considered. The power wasn't there for uplighting small fountains and trees, for example. Until now, the use of LEDs has been mostly confined to marker lights, recessed lights, and orientation lights in the ground. We're just about to see the advent of wash and flood lights, and genuine recessed burial fittings; I expect to see exponential growth in this area in the next 12-18 months as people come to grips with the issues surrounding LEDs.

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