Scheveningen
I took these pictures just as the sun went down at Scheveningen in Holland.
The interesting pictures are those of the LED streetlight. So why is this light so good?
- The light appears to have fifteen sets of three rows of four 1-watt LEDs. They look like they are the same LEDs as in my floodlights here.
- These lights have a total power consumption of perhaps 200 watts, but then nearly all of this energy ends up as light. A typical halogen light would use between five and ten times more energy.
- You can also see that each of the individual banks of four lights are angled to give an even light on the ground. This is exactly the same way that the lights in floodlight towers at a football ground are arranged so that the pitch is evenly lit.
- LEDs have a life of many years, so how much will be saved on maintenance. I suspect that these lights might even just need a wash every year or so.
- One subsidiary benefit of these lights is that the light goes where it is needed and not up in the sky. Astronomers will be very pleased.
But these lights are just the start. As LEDs are dimmable, low-voltage, easily controlled and have a low energy consumption all sorts of tricks can be played to make them even better. In a country with enough sun, you could even have the lights solar-powered. But perhaps in Holland or the UK, by using a light profile, which dimmed them in the middle of a night, it might even be possible.
It may be quite a mundane piece of street furniture, but in a few years time, all street-lighting will be based on these principles.
If it isn’t, it’ll be a disgrace.
Trains and Coffee
My journey on Friday from Stansted Airport to Winchester took four trains, but went very smoothly. It avoided London termini and was much easier.
The Stansted Express took me to Tottenham Hale and then it was the Victoria Line to Vauxhall. I used to do this a lot to see a client, who sadly has now passed on. It was then a quick hop to Clapham Junction and then a fast train to Winchester.
All trains were clean and I had two cups of coffee en route. The one on the Stansted Express was £1.85 and the other on the Winchester Train was £1.40. But the Stansted one was an individual filter, so the value was about right. They were both good.
I should also say that when I took the train to Southampton Airport, I bought the wrong ticket from the machine. I felt that some jobsworth might make me buy a new ticket, but he just charged me 40 pence for the difference.
Who says service has died?
Winchester
These are a few pictures I took in Winchester on Friday.
I must try and find the pictures I took of Winchester and the cathedral, when I first visited the city at the age of 10.
The Anonymous Widower 