To save energy and provide a better lighting experience, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has undertaken a massive drive to replace the existing conventional lights with LED ones at 155 locations covering stations, depots, parking lots, etc.
The incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lamps, CFL lamps, etc were installed under DMRC’s Phase-I project in 2005 and Phase-II in 2010. “Around 75% of the drive has been covered by installing around one lakh LED lights. The remaining part will be completed by the end of October wherein around 35,000 LED lights will be installed,” said Anuj Dayal, executive director (corporate communications), DMRC.
The operational life of conventional lights was around 10 years. “DMRC decided to replace these lights, which are well past their effective age, with new age LED lights that are both cost effective as well as energy efficient. LEDbased lighting solutions have been implemented at all Phase-III stations and a similar system will be adopted for the upcoming Phase-IV stations too,” said Dayal.
“The LED-based light system will help DMRC save around half of the energy expenditure. As a result, the cost of installing these lights will be recovered in around two years,” he added.
The lifespan of LEDs is long compared with conventional lights with a much reduced maintenance cost. “The average LED lasts 50,000 operating hours. It is more than 40 times the lifespan of an incandescent bulb. In addition, LED lights have an energy efficiency component that makes them consume a very low amount of power,” Dayal said.
Undertaking the drive at operational stations was a challenging task as the work had to be executed at night time for safety reasons, which increased installation time. “Even at night, the work can be carried out for around two hours only since the time window available from the close of last and commencement of first passenger service is very limited. Other important operational preparedness and routine maintenance activities are also undertaken during this period only,” said the official.
DMRC had to arrange for special scaffolding and cranes to cover the spaces at twice or thrice the normal height of a building, which is a time-consuming exercise.
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