EVALUATION OF THE USE OF LED LIGHTS TO REPLACE THE CURRENT PUBLIC LIGHTS IN HDB COMMON AREAS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

With the invention of the semiconductor light-emitting diode, or commonly known as the LED, it marks a brand new lighting revolution for the century. Its applications are widespread from signage indicators to the electronic fields of mobile phones, computers, TV screens and automobile equipments. Now, this technology slowly being adopted for use in Singapore’s public housing scene for common area lighting. However, there is no specific study done towards the evaluation of replacing the current lighting solution with the new LED lights. Therefore, the objectives of this dissertation is to identify the problems encountered with the conventional lighting system used in the Singapore’s public housing, and to evaluate LED lights as its potential successor in terms of brightness, life cycle cost, energy consumption, and performance. In this study, the term “conventional lighting system” will be referred to as the fluorescent lighting system that is most commonly used for HDB blocks. From the analysis of the data collected from the survey, interview and experiment, it was found that 32% of the residents using the conventional lighting system commented that they have problems with way finding during the night. As compared to the residents using the LED lighting system, only 8% of them expressed problems. The respondents commented the main problem of the conventional lighting system is due to the flickering of the fluorescent lights. The overall user satisfactory level was analysed by using the paired-samples t-test in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). It was found that the user rating is higher in the LED lighting systems. The results from the data also show a significant amount of energy and cost savings per year can be achieved by using a LED lighting system for public lighting. It is concluded that using LED lights for HDB common area lighting is beneficial in terms of both performance and cost savings. However, the replacement areas should be extended to public facilities such as playgrounds, link ways, and multi-purpose halls in HDB estates.