Manufacturer admits to failure with streetlights

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

The debate about the new streetlights installed in downtown Rogers City in late December has been a hot issue since they first went on. Many people have had the opinion that the streetlights are too dim and the city officials have been patiently waiting to hear about the light levels and if the lights were indeed too dim. All the while city manager Mark Slown has been asking the public to be patient and wait until the project was completed, and he is going to continue to ask the public to be patient.

The lights were purchased from Beacon Products of Bradenton, Florida. In a letter to the city of Rogers City, and engineer for the project, Harry Wierenga, dated April 30, Beacon owned up to the fact that indeed there is a problem with the streetlights. ?We have determined that there has been a failure in the LED (Light emitting diode) assembly caused by an incompatibility between the LED?s and an adhesive that was used to secure the optical lenses over each LED. We have confirmed the cause of failure by sending failed LED engines to the LED manufacture (Cree) for engineering testing. The testing confirmed that the adhesive?s out gassing attacks the phosphor used inside the LED causing the LED?s to dim and turn blue. The failure can take as little as seven days,? stated the letter from Perry Romano of Beacon Products.

Rogers City was determined to be one of the locations that recieved defective LED engines. Since the issue was discovered, Beacon has been redesigning the engine so that the optics can be held in place by a stainless steel bezel plate, eliminating any glue medium and the potential of any future recurrence. Beacon stated in the letter that they hoped to finish the testing of the bezel idea within the next week. The design has already been approved by the LED manufacture. Beacon also stated that they planned to use higher lumen output LED chips in the replacement LED engines that will improve the stability of the chip and the light output of the assembly.

In addition, Beac

on is modifying the LED assembly by using a convex, rather than flat, lens over the LED array to assure minimal refractive loss and maximum angular light distribution. Beacon anticipates having a replacement product within the next two to three weeks, as soon as they can confirm a delivery and installation schedule with them. Beacon products will be providing complete replacement and restoration as well as a two-year warranty from the date of acceptance of the replacements as an assurance to the city that their redesigned product exceeds industry standards and is an expression of their confidence in the effort.

Beacon will contact the local contractor, Thunder Bay Electric of Alpena, to change out the existing LED engines with replacements. ?We understand this is a credibility issue that affects all of us and we take full responsibility for our products and the advancement of this new technology,? stated the letter in closing. Slown and many other city officials have been feeling the heat from local citizens who are unsatisfied with the new streetlights. Slown is again asking citizens to be patient and wait to see what happens when the new LED engines can be installed and the project can be completed.

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