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While the options are in many cases still being tested elsewhere, Hohen Neuendorf is once again headed for the home stretch: Since November, the municipal administration has been retrofitting all street lamps in the city to energy-saving LED technology. More than half of the lamps have already been done. The roadsides in the city are fitted with 3602 street lights, of which 3482 can be converted to state-of-the-art technology. In 3146 cases this simply means fitting another lamp, the term used by technicians to describe a new globe. 336 street lights will be fitted with a completely new lamp head. The remaining 120 street lights are considered to be incapable of being retrofitted and are to be renewed. As regards the surface and number of retrofitted luminaires, Hohen Neuendorf has approached this efficiently and pragmatically, using a method that is exemplary in Germany. Not least for this reason, the city had successfully tendered for acceptance into the Climate Protection Initiative by the Federal Environment Ministry, which provides financial support to the value of 25%.

Almost four years since introducing the first Helecta LED retrofit lamps as replacements for mercury and sodium lamps, the company has now succeeded in taking another large step towards greater efficiency and consequently another field of application.

The technology of Light-Emitting Diodes is increasingly replacing conventional bulbs in public and industrial lighting systems. When replacing an HQL bulb of small to medium power (50W - 150W) the choice is often between: LED retrofit bulb or complete LED luminaire. The lower price and the fact that it is much easier to retrofit an LED often speak in favour of this option, although there are always those who are critical of retrofit technology and who put forward well-founded reservations, yet in many cases also merely cling to prejudices that exist as a result of good lobbying. This article deals with the advantages and disadvantages of retrofit technology, and is intended to help you take a more objective decision as to where this approach makes sense and where not.

p> Since 2009, Helecta GmbH has been offering an LED-based retrofit alternative that merely entails replacing the lamp and whereby an LED lamp with 27W connected load can replace conventional mercury lamps of up to 80W with a connected load of approx. 95W including ballast. These LED lamps with E27 base (E40 optional) are screwed into the luminaire instead of the mercury or sodium lamp and the ballast is bridged. This allows existing luminaires to continue to be used, plus which the original light distribution essentially remains unchanged.

For some time now, LED tubes have been becoming increasingly popular due to their tremendous savings potential in terms of energy consumption and maintenance. However, since autumn last year, after a few press reports, there has been a growing uncertainty on the part of customers as regards their safety and legal liability in the case of retrofitting.