Streetlights on continuously for days

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jamesrt

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#208680 22-Feb-2017 11:30

I've noticed the streetlights are on 24/7 on the motorway junction near where I live currently; have been for a good couple of weeks now. Thinking this is a bit of a waste of electricity, I contacted the local council to ask if they knew why. I received this response:

Wellington Electricity (WE) have advised [council] regular maintenance programmes requires street lights to be left on for continuous periods.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why this may be?

Perhaps the "maintenance" involves replacing the power switch; but surely that wouldn't take 2/3 weeks? Surely??

frankv

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#1724343 22-Feb-2017 11:40

Maybe the maintenance involves driving around to see which bulbs are blown? But you'd think that could be done in a day.

Maybe it takes 2 weeks to get a cherrypicker and crew and spare parts and Traffic Management Plan and whatnot to replace a faulty daylight sensor?

ANglEAUT

altered-ego
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#1724344 22-Feb-2017 11:41

Could this be the initial burn in period for new bulbs?

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

gregmcc

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#1724406 22-Feb-2017 13:06

All the above answers sound like BS to me.

It seems like someone is been fed a line of public relations speak and they are feeding it down the line.

Regular maintenance does not require lights to be left on for 2 weeks straight

Bulb burn in is not a factor either

Most likely a faulty daylight switch or stuck contactor, both of which would be mounted on or in a ground mounted control box, no cherry picker required

jamesrt

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#1724410 22-Feb-2017 13:11

gregmcc: It seems like someone is been fed a line of public relations speak and they are feeding it down the line.

Maybe; I had dropped the next line of the email, which read "Council does follow up that the locations being advised are on this schedule; the [...] area has been confirmed." So, to me, that implies that Wellington Electricity does publish a maintenance list, and that the area I'm talking about is on that list. So, maybe not entirely BS.

gregmcc: Regular maintenance does not require lights to be left on for 2 weeks straight

I didn't think so either; but clearly someone does. Hence the question.

surfisup1000

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#1724469 22-Feb-2017 14:01

jamesrt:

I've noticed the streetlights are on 24/7 on the motorway junction near where I live currently; have been for a good couple of weeks now. Thinking this is a bit of a waste of electricity, I contacted the local council to ask if they knew why. I received this response:

Wellington Electricity (WE) have advised [council] regular maintenance programmes requires street lights to be left on for continuous periods.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to why this may be?

Perhaps the "maintenance" involves replacing the power switch; but surely that wouldn't take 2/3 weeks? Surely??

Our neighbourhood residential streetlights were on for around 3 or 4 months solid --- they use ripple control or something (can't exactly remember what they said) to switch them on and off and something was broken so they couldn't turn them off.

wellygary

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#1724912 23-Feb-2017 09:34

Just a point,

Motorway street lights fall under the control of NZTA, not local councils

NZTA are prgressivly introducing LEDs across the State Highway network and this involves removing the ripple control circuits as the LEDS are radio controlled on an individual basis.....

So you might find that you lights get upgraded in the near future