L.E.D Lighting Systems

Antenna Systems & Solutions, Inc. offers FAA-approved LED Obstruction Lighting. To see if this meets the specific needs for your application, please contact us (or by phone 847-584-1000).

You can choose from various lighting technologies and energy levels to light the exteriors of structures. The goal of obstruction lighting is to ensure proper visibility of structures for safety purposes. Where you can do that with an LED solution, LED is often the best choice. But its major advantage can, under certain conditions, be its major disadvantage.

For help in determining what best meets the specific needs for your application, please contact us (or by phone 847-584-1000).

More about LED lighting

The lighting industry and its trade publications have generally dropped the periods from the Light Emitting Diode acronym. So we can just write LED instead of the more traditional L.E.D.

When LED lamps first appeared on the market, they had limited application because of high directionality. They would light up only what you aimed them at. They weren't as directional as lasers, but from a lighting designer's standpoint they may as well have been. This limitation along with the (then) high cost made LEDs a novelty item. By contrast, fluorescent lamps provide a high degree of light diffusion and came with a low price point.

Properly lighting a room with LED. wasn't possible until the lamps, fixtures, lenses, and shades were able to be cost-effectively designed to provide diffusion without extreme light loss. Now that it is possible, we are seeing LED lighting being used in a wide range of applications.

This has had implications for obstruction lighting, too. Where LED was completely inapplicable at one time, it's now an ideal solution. A huge advantage of LED is the low total cost of ownership. That comes from very low power usage (far lower than fluorescent), much lower cost than in the early days, much longer lifespan, and an inherent ruggedness. The last two factors mean not just lower replacement lamp costs, but also less frequent cost of labor and access to do the relamping.

The one weakness of LED is so little of its energy is converted to heat. While that's also its strength, this factor means your design and installation must account for the fact that LED is not going to melt off thick ice the way incandescent will. In some cases, this factor means LED is not going to work in the application. It takes an engineering analysis to determine that, so don't jump to conclusions.

We offer L.E.D. obstruction lighting solutions such as these:

• OL1 LED FAA Approved Type L-810 Obstruction Lighting Kit. This reduces the power consumption by 96% and has a 5 year manufacturer's warranty.
• OL2 LED FAA Approved Type L-810 Obstruction Lighting Kit. This a low intensity, FAA approved LED lighting system with 360 degree horizontal coverage.
• RED LED FAA Approved Type L-864 Beacon. It uses 90% less energy than a similar incandescent, is FAA Approved, and creates NO EMI/RFI spurious emissions.
• DUAL RED/WHITE FAA Approved LED Type L-864/L-865 system. This is a medium intensity system with a maximum draw of 95 watts.

For help in determining what best meets the specific needs for your application, pleasecontact us (or by phone 847-584-1000).

Antenna Systems & Solutions, Inc.offers FAA-approved obstruction lighting kits. The FAA approves lighting specifically for making obstructions visible. Generally, any structure over 190 feet is required to have obstruction lighting. The FAA defines five categories of obstruction lighting, A- F.

FAA's five categories are below. If you're not sure which one applies to your project, feel free to contact us (or by phone 847-584-1000) for assistance.

"A" Series Obstruction Lights:

Red (L-864) obstruction lights are used to increase conspicuity during nighttime. Daytime and twilight marking is required. Recommendations on lighting structures can vary depending on terrain features, weather patterns, geographic location, and in the case of wind turbines, number of structures and overall layout of design. Typical obstruction heights vary between 20 to 2200 feet.

"D" Series Obstruction Lights:

Medium intensity flashing white (L-865) obstruction lights may provide conspicuity both day and night. Recommendations on lighting structures can vary depending on terrain features, weather patterns, geographic location, and in the case of wind turbines, number of structures and overall layout of design. Typical obstruction heights vary between 200 to 500 feet.

"E" Series Obstruction Lights:

Medium intensity flashing white (L-865) obstruction lights may provide conspicuity both day and night. Recommendations on lighting structures can vary depending on terrain features, weather patterns, geographic location, and in the case of wind turbines, number of structures and overall layout of design.

"B" Series Obstruction Lights:

Lighting with high intensity (L-856) flashing white obstruction lights provides the highest degree of conspicuity both day and night. Recommendations on lighting structures can vary depending on terrain features, weather patterns, geographic location, and in the case of wind turbines, number of structures and overall layout of design.

"C" Series Obstruction Lights:

When a structure lighted by a high intensity flashing light system is topped with an antenna or similar appurtenance exceeding 40 feet (12m) in height, a medium intensity flashing white light (L-865) should be placed within 40 feet (12m) from the tip of the appurtenance. This light should operate 24 hours a day and flash simultaneously with the rest of the lighting system.

"F" Series Obstruction Lights:

This dual lighting system includes red lights (L-864) for nighttime and high intensity flashing white lights (L-856) for daytime and twilight use. This lighting system may be used in lieu of operating a flashing white lighting system at night. There may be some populated areas where the use of high intensity lights at night may cause significant environmental concerns and complaints.

Don't get hooked on a particular technology, just because it's the latest or the most energy-efficient or (insert reason here). There is no ideal lighting technology. Each has its particular advantages and drawbacks. That's one reason we offer red incandescent along with LED.

Many people are hooked on LED, because it's far more energy-efficient than incandescent. In other words, it throws off much less of the energy as heat. Is that the kind of lighting you want on the exterior of an obstruction that is prone to freezing over with thick ice or even snow? Absolutely not. On the other hand, if you have an obstruction that's facing west and you're in Florida then the application is entirely different.

Or consider the choice between medium intensity and high intensity strobe lights. Which one you go with depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Not sure what you need to do? No problem. We have experts who can help. Feel free to contact us (or by phone 847-584-1000) for more information.

You'll want to start with the FAA circular that provides the FAA Obstruction Lighting Rules.

Applicable standards for design and installation include NFPA 70 (the National Electrical Code) and standards produced by the IES (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America).