Tunnel lighting that

goes the distance

Several standards had to be met if the tunnel lighting was going to go the distance. Trafikverket wanted energy-efficient fixtures that would provide white light with good color rendering. Since maintenance is disruptive and costly, the lighting also needed a long service life. Finally, the system had to meet brightness standards and achieve uniformity, preventing any stroboscopic effects.

Philips TunLite LED was put to the test. “We carried out a test installation using 10 66W TunLite LEDs”, explained Berth Torsson, Technical Project Manager at Trafikverket. “The LED results were so good that we tried reducing the power to 61 W. The result was really impressive, so we installed 160 luminaires in the center of the tunnel ceiling. The distance between the luminaires is 8 meters; previously, the distance was 6 meters. We have now decided to install LEDs in the entire tunnel.”

Fewer lights are now needed, reducing the overall cost. What’s more, the new lighting has strengthened safety in the tunnel. Berth Torsson explains: “Users have reacted very positively. They find that the white LED lighting is much clearer than the yellow light from the old SON lamps. They also have better color rendering, Ra 70, resulting in improved traffic safety in the tunnel”.

The ground-breaking LED lights have a 60,000 hour service life, which minimizes maintenance costs and traffic disruptions. Energy consumption has been reduced by 21,000 kWh per year, and CO2 emission by 25,000 kg per year.