ECN Forum
Posted By: zng Street lights voltages - 02/07/11 08:27 PM
Hello
I need to find out what are the most common voltage levels used in street and public lighting for the below lamp's types. Better if percentages of use are provided.
M.V: Mercury Vapor
H.P.S.V: High Pressure Sodium Vapor
M.H: Metallic Hallogenous ?

I have seen specs for 120,220,208,277 and 480VAC, which ones are the most popular?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Posted By: HotLine1 Re: Street lights voltages - 02/07/11 08:30 PM
The voltages you reference are all common for street and site lighting projects. "Available" voltage is the key to picking a fixture.

MH is 'Metal halide'

Posted By: PAteenlectrician Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 12:12 AM
Welcome to the forums!
My area ia HPS @ 120 volts. (MORE LIKE 130!)
Posted By: EV607797 Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 01:52 AM
120 with HPS or MV here in Virginia.
Posted By: HotLine1 Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 03:00 AM
BTW, local POCO (PSE&G) is replacing the MH street lights with new induction fixtures. 150 watt induction replacement for 400 & 250 watt MH.
Posted By: renosteinke Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 03:09 AM
I hate to say this .. but if you have to ask - stay away from street lights!

I say this because many streetlights are wires like airport runway lights, with a unique transformer and wiring arrangement; the usual 'volts and amps' rules don't really apply.
Posted By: ghost307 Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 03:16 PM
I agree with Reno...watch yourself.

I've seen so many oddball voltages with streetlighting that it falls into the category of "if you have to ask, don't do it."

They can be run with anything from 120V on up. The last set of runway lights that I ran across were 2300V.
Posted By: zng Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 09:02 PM
Thank you all. I have a product that works at 230/240VAC and i need to know if 277VAC is very popular or 480 or 120 then ask the engineering team in Europe to modify the product. For what I have seen in other places seems that 277 is common as well as 120. not sure about 480.
Posted By: gfretwell Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 09:31 PM
I think it depends on what is handy on the pole. Lights around residential areas seems to be 120, simply tapped off of a convenient secondary.
Posted By: Tesla Re: Street lights voltages - 02/08/11 11:14 PM
I can't speak to public street lights...

But I've put up a fair number of parking lot lights.

480, 277 and 208 are by far the most popular voltages used in a commercial setting.

CWA are common as dust. Many are multi-tap so as to handle even 240 and 120. ( Constant Wattage Autoformers )

Public street lights involve much greater distances and may use medium voltages for distribution for that reason. Further, tapping transformers may be SERIES WIRED across the medium voltage circuit -- which then tends to be a RING CIRCUIT.

The above approach is used for runway landing lights. It assures pilots that each and every light -- regardless of location -- taps the exact same amount of medium voltage energy. ( Typically 5,000 VAC )

[ Imagine a stack of Current Transformers all on one 5,000 V conductor. Each would have the same draw/ amperage and voltage imposed because they'd all experience the same field intensity. That's how runways are illuminated.]

Conventional circuits end up faking out the pilots depth perception because they'd have different luminosities based upon how far they were from the distribution node.

Posted By: mikesh Re: Street lights voltages - 02/09/11 01:44 AM
Our streetlights are generally 120 volts. Most branch circuits are fed with #6 and O/C at around 20 amps.
Completely urban.
Hyway lighting is usually higher voltage to address VD and can be 600V or 347V. We don't see much 480/277 in Canada except in motors and industrial sites that have US owners.
I can't speak for Southern Ontario where the cars are made but I would be surprised to learn the Canadian GM plant used 600 volts when the Detroit GM plant used 480.
Posted By: harold endean Re: Street lights voltages - 02/09/11 02:45 PM
Here in northern NJ, it seems like they mostly use Merc Vapor with some areas just getting into HPS. They will use a multi tap and use 120/240 what ever is available at that pole. Heck there are still some old incandescent lights around. They are great to practice on with sling shots! Not that I would do that. smile
Posted By: harold endean Re: Street lights voltages - 02/09/11 02:46 PM
I also forgot, as you drive down the road you will see the lights go off/ then go on, then go off/on. The bulbs get old and "cycle" over and over all night long.
Posted By: PAteenlectrician Re: Street lights voltages - 02/09/11 10:47 PM
Our lights are just multiple-lugged off the transformers or those black crimp butt splices or those boxes taped shut containing those hydraulic splices.
Posted By: frenchelectrican Re: Street lights voltages - 02/14/11 02:49 AM
Let me cover the European side most of the street luminaires are useally wired either 230/240 or 380/415 volts depending on what they tapped to the grids.

Of course we do have couple series circuit( ring circuit ) as well. If you run into series expect them to be anywhere from 1200 volts to much as 4800 volts depending on the layout and they will use the constat current transfomer to downstep the voltage to the street luminaires.

The only few spots I know they still use the series is airport runway luminaires or large number of street luminaire in such a tight cluster or very long run one of the two.

Last warning with series connected luminaires never remove the bulb without shuntting the constant current transfomer otherwise you will get nailed pretty hard which it did to me before. { about 1600 volts that time }

Merci.
Marc
Posted By: zng Re: Street lights voltages - 03/08/11 08:25 PM
Thnaks a lot to all for your insights!
Posted By: Vlado Re: Street lights voltages - 03/08/11 09:15 PM
Yeah,230 V where I live.
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Street lights voltages - 03/09/11 05:03 PM
230V 1ph in Vienna, neutral and two switched hots (one of which is hot dusk to dawn, the other only dusk to 11 or midnight), double-isolated lights, mostly two 35W fluorescents, HPS or some mercury vapor in busier streets (generally HPS, warm white mercury in historic areas and places with lots of pedestrian traffic). The lights are switched in zones controled by photocells and can act quite weird sometimes. Either they're on all day long or they shut off completely at midnight (and sometimes switch on both circuits at like 3AM), or both hots are on all night, or they don't work at all. Especially the area I live in has had quite some fun over the past 5 years (ever since they disconnected a larger section of overhead wire to allow for fire department ladders a few streets away).
© ECN Electrical Forums