Are drivers getting their money’s worth from the Port Authority’s decision to replace older bulbs in the Lincoln Tunnel with Light Emitting Diode lamps? Some of the new lights have flickered out to an early death.
A driver emailed us about LED lights that were installed in 2014 in the Lincoln Tunnel for $2.1 million. The LEDs are supposed to last longer compared to the 16-month lifespan of the bulbs they replaced, authority officials said in March 2014, when the project was announced.
Some of the LED lights in the Lincoln Tunnel, seen near the ceiling, have burned out years before their life span is supposed to end. They were installed in 2014. Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
“As a daily commuter, I’ve noticed about 25 percent to 35 percent of the new bulbs are either burnt out, flickering or not fully illuminated, and that’s just in the north tube,” the reader wrote.
Installation of the 2,300 energy efficient LED lights in the Lincoln followed similar installations in the Holland Tunnel and on George Washington Bridge.
Officials said the change in the Lincoln Tunnel would save an estimated $283,000 in energy costs.
Q: Why are the new LED lights in the Lincoln Tunnel failing so soon?
A: What’s killing the new lights are the housings they’re installed in, said Neal Buccino, a Port Authority spokesman. The LED lights are supposed to have a lifespan of more than five years when used 24/7, he said.
“The tunnel was built with light fixtures that are recessed into the concrete, fixtures that must still be used today, to prevent the lights from being hit by buses and trucks,” he said. “Unfortunately, heat builds up within the fixtures.”
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The heat build-up is affecting the LEDs, resulting in flickering lights and burnouts, he said. Heat problems also shortened the lifespan of high-pressure sodium bulbs the LEDs replaced, Buccino said.
While Port Authority officials will try to engineer a solution, the LED lights are still under warranty, meaning Port Authority hasn’t had to pay for replacements, Buccino said. Despite the problem, the LEDs already have outlasted the bulbs they replaced, he said.
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