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Detroit's LED Streetlights Are Going Dark After a Few Years

Wednesday May 8, 2019. 03:10 AM , from Slashdot
Detroit's Public Lighting Authority has filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the manufacturer of nearly a third of the city's 65,000 streetlights, after it found that upward of 20,000 LED lights are 'prematurely dimming and burning out' and putting the city's revitalization progress 'in jeopardy.' The city estimates a fix would cost millions. Detroit News reports: The issue was discovered last fall during routine surveys of the lighting system, and it's tied to defective units that were either 'charred, burned, or cracked,' according to a February letter from the lighting authority's law firm. The California-based manufacturer (Leotek Electronics USA) acknowledged in a December letter to the lighting authority that it had experienced 'a higher number of reports of failures' in models dimming city streets, primarily in west side neighborhoods and a number of Detroit's major thoroughfares.

In the Dec. 17 letter, Leotek administrator Hy Nguyen said the company had determined 'the problem is excessive heat that can burn the lens directly above the LED.' 'We apologize for the problem you have experienced and will work with you to correct the problems,' Nguyen wrote. But in recent weeks, Leotek officials have gone silent, according to the lighting authority. A representative for Leotek did not respond Monday to requests for comment. The lighting project has been held up by Mayor Mike Duggan and others as an early success in the city's effort to restore basic services. Before the three-year, $185 million overhaul, about 40% of Detroit's 88,000 streetlights didn't work. The LED lights provided by Leotek were anticipated to last for at least a decade.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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