Feasibility Study on LED Street Lighting with Smart Dimming Systems in Wooi Stream, Seoul

Abstract

The South Korean and Seoul metropolitan governments have been forced to radically change the current High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps for street lighting in cities according to ″LED Plan 2060.″ Thus, this study aims to evaluate the feasibility of LED-based street lighting by analyzing energy efficiency and life cycle cost. For this purpose, a comparison of the lighting energy consumption by dimming control in Wooi Stream as a test bed project was conducted and the life cycle cost of LED lamps for replacing HPS lamps for street lighting was analyzed. As a result, LED lamp replacement could reduce the energy consumption by 69% compared to HPS lamps, and the dimming control system by pedestrian movements could save 77% of lighting energy. However, the payback period of LED replacement is 11.5 years. This indicates that the high purchase price of LED lamps would decline by 80% within 4–5 years with assertive investment for commercializing LED lamps and rapid growth of the lighting market in Korea, if LED lamps in street lighting have an economic performance.