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The city of Raleigh, N.c., recently exchanged orange garage light fixtures for LED fixtures with bright white light, and a study shows people feel safer in that garage.
Mindwave Research Inc. conducted a survey of 200 people. The research firm took polls before and after the recent LED upgrade. The number of respondents who perceived the garage as “very safe” increased to 76 percent after the LED fixtures were installed, according to a survey by Mindwave Research of Austin, Texas. Only 2 percent of those surveyed reported that they did not feel safe, down from 13 percent. Other results of the survey are as follows:
The percentage of respondents who gave the garage an overall rating of “excellent” increased by 100 percent. The number of people who rated it as “poor” decreased from 8 to 1 percent.
The lighting quality of the garage was “excellent” according to 86 percent of the respondents, a 258-percent increase from preinstallation respondents. The number of people who rated it as “poor” decreased from 18 to 2 percent.
The cleanliness of the parking garage was perceived as “excellent” by 76 percent of the respondents, while only 58 percent rated it this way before the LEDs were installed, showing a 31 percent increase.
“This survey shows that LEDs can do more than improve light quality. In addition to the proven environmental and energy-efficiency benefits the city has already documented, the survey shows that LEDs’ bright white light can help improve public feelings of safety in city spaces,” said Charles Meeker, mayor of Raleigh.
This announcement comes after Raleigh agreed to become the nation’s first LED City, as reported in ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR’s last issue.
The LED City initiative focuses on installing LED lighting throughout the city to save energy and money and boost the quality of life for its residents by using the best lighting technology commercially available.
As a result, the city has improved the energy savings and lighting of its municipal city parking facility, the first of a series of projects aimed at delivering the environmental and economic benefits of LED lighting throughout the city. EC
