Japanese LED traffic lights just too cool when snow falls

Yahoo News ^ | 2/23/15 | AFP

[NormsRevenge]

Tokyo (AFP) - Energy-saving LED traffic lights seemed like a cool way to cut back on electricity costs, but Japanese police said Monday they might just be too cool -- because they don't melt snow.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) account for around 45 percent of all of Japan's stop-and-go signals ..

But in wintery northern Japan the lights have encountered a problem -- drivers can't see them because they don't get warm enough to melt accumulated snow.

Akira Kudo of Aomori Prefectural Police said snow has to be removed manually between December and mid-February during blizzards.

"We don't have enough staff members to remove snow as more and more LED lights are being introduced," he said.

[Paul R.]

I’ve also seen in one case LED traffic lights whose output was so directional that as you pull up to the white “stop” line, you can’t tell which light is on. For some reason there was not another light at a lower angle on the other side of the intersection.

[blam]

TV Cartoon's Flashes Send 700 Japanese Into Seizures

TOKYO, Thursday, Dec. 18— One moment they were happily munching on their dinner and watching their favorite cartoon show on television. The next moment, hundreds of children across the country were shaking and convulsing and being rushed to hospitals.

(snip)

[Bobalu]

Of course the answer is inclusion of a tiny heating element.

Soda machines have a heater, why not LED traffic lights.
(in very cold areas sodas would burst in the machines if not for the tiny heater inside)

[ltc8k6]

DC transmission lines are coming back.

It has some good advantages in certain situations that are being realized more and more.

One of the big advantages is there is no need for synchronization between different grids to transfer power back and forth.

Really long distances have less loss with DC, apparently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-voltage_direct_current

[babygene]

“Really long distances have less loss with DC, apparently.”

That is probably true, since even at 60HZ some power is radiated (but it is negligible), however the cost and efficiency loss of converting it back to AC is tremendous.

[Tallguy]

The call it “Progress”...

[minnesota_bound]

Use electricity to melt the snow when needed. Off when not.

[X-FID]

Very true. Did some googling and the only places DC transmission is implemented commercially is for undersea transmission. It also appears that the greens are trying to push it for wind farms since they generally are in the middle of nowhere and produce DC that has to be converted at some point anyway.

Those wind generators produce AC and it's low power at that.

[editor-surveyor]

.
They just need to go back to the old style ‘hoods’ with no bottoms.

.

[Dad x 3]

You mean like Janet Jackson?

[MediaMole]

In Wisconsin, they added heaters and covers to the LED lights. It was really bad two years ago when they first installed the new lights. Most of them, they just added a plastic shield so the snow couldn’t get in.

Now the problem is in the cameras operating the intelligent light controllers. These get covered and no one ever gets a left turn arrow.

[Nowhere Man]

I’ve noticed the same thing with the LED traffic lights here in the Pittsburgh and Eastern Ohio area.

[Nailbiter]

unintended consequences, create business opportunities