Dialight working in co-operation with The City of Edinburgh Council announced today that a World Heritage site, Princes Street, widely rated as one of the world’s most beautiful city streets, is the location for Scotland’s first LED street light trial. To date there have been just a handful of LED trials in the United Kingdom making the Princes Street trial the most high profile deployment of smart and cost effective LED lighting technology.

After 18 months of consultation with all relevant bodies with an interest in this sensitive section of urban townscape, a team of LED specialists from Dialight, world leader in applied LED technology, retro-fitted four units of the latest generation of LED light head into the existing street furniture.

The City of Edinburgh Council worked closely with Dialight to identify a high profile site to showcase the new LED street lighting technology. Working with Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and Lothian and Borders Police the Council identified Princes Mall as an ideal location for this. The new lighting will improve local visibility without any impact on the backdrops of the Edinburgh Old Town and the Balmoral Hotel. This will enhance use of the area, and both parties are pleased to have had the co-operation of the property owners in this venture.

The benefits of LEDs over conventional lighting solutions are many. They include the solid-state LED unit’s long life of seven years and its resistance to vandalism, thereby cutting maintenance and replacement costs. In this instance LEDs also bring a reduction in power consumption of 50% together with better uniformity of output and an increased lighting level by a factor of four. They also offer absolute control of light spill and the ability to programme-in smart controls such as proximity sensors to allow the light to come on instantly when a person or vehicle approaches. Additionally, an LED lighting solution reduces carbon emissions thus improving air quality and with its clear, white light makes the streets much safer for users.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, Transport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council said,“In today’s economic environment it is paramount for city managers to seek out smart, cost effective technologies that make our cities more sustainable. Lighting is the dramatic catalyst for a sensitive civic townscape, so we are keen to evaluate the maintenance savings, CO2 reduction benefits and performance improvements that LED lighting promises to offer.”

Roy Burton, CEO of Dialight plc said, “Working with a team that is so acutely aware of the need to combat climate change and reduce city carbon footprints has been a most rewarding task. The Edinburgh Princes Street Trial is important in showing how Dialight’s LED lighting solutions can be put in place in the most sensitive of urban townscapes. Once we have a full evaluation of this trial we can move forward with a range of civic lighting solutions that address the particular needs of Britain’s cities.”