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Case Study: Brazil Traffic Lights Case Study
Case Study: Brazil Traf c Lights
Brazilian Citys LUXEON-Based Signals Slash Energy Costs 90%
Cities throughout the U.S. and Europe have been replacing incandescent-based
traf c lights with LEDs since the 1990s, drawn by the dramatic cost savings of a
light source that consumes roughly 10% of the power required by incandescent
lamps. Developing countries have been slower to switch to LED traf c signals in
part because of limited capital budgets, but a project in a large suburb of Sao
Paolo, Brazil, may light the way.
Instead of completely replacing each traf c xture with the standard dome-shaped
LED traf c signal ball integrating an LED array, optical lenses and color lter in
a single housing, the Brazilian city of Guarulhos retro tted 5,370 incandescent
lamps in 1252 vehicular and 807 pedestrian traf c signals with custom light
bulbs illuminated by high-power LUXEON
�
I LEDs from Philips Lumileds
(www.philipslumileds.com).
Spearheaded and funded by electric power distributor Bandeirante Energia S.A
(www.bandeirante.com.br/energia) with approval from the Brazilian federal govern-
ment, the project has slashed signal-related energy usage in Guarulhos by nearly
90%. The savings of 1340 megawatt hours per year is enough to power about
558 Brazilian
households. It
has also chopped
approximately
USD$240,000
(R$434,200) per
year off the citys
electricity expen-
ditures, freeing
funds to add over
300 new traf c
lights to improve
safety and traf c
management. Brazil Traf c Lights Case Study (2008/3/27)
2
The initiative cost approximately USD$750,000 (R$1.35 million) and paid
for itself in 12 months through a combination of energy savings and main-
tenance reductions made possible by long LED life. Were not only saving
money but were saving energy as well. Its good for the city budget, and
its good for the environment too,
said Paulo de Tarso Carvalhaes,
Illumination and Energy Director, City
of Guarulhos, S�o Paulo State.
Combating Energy Waste
The Guarulhos LED retro t project
was inspired by Federal law #9991,
passed July 24, 2000. Under that
law, Brazils energy companies
are required to invest 1% of their
total revenues on initiatives aimed
at reducing energy use. In 2005
Wagner Silvestre, energy ef ciency
consultant for Bandeirante Energia, began investigating the use of LED traf c lights
to help ful ll the requirement.
I was familiar with LED traf c signal balls that require replacement of the entire traf c signal enclosure, but our local
Philips Lumileds representative showed me a new and less expensive LED product developed by a Brazilian company
that looked like a regular light bulb and could be changed just as easily. That seemed like a good t for our needs and
resources, Silvestre said.
Silvestre submitted a proposal to the Ag�ncia Nacional de Energia El�trica (Electric Energy National Agency, or ANEEL)
part of the Mines and Energy Ministry of Brazil, and the government agency that enforces the energy conservation lawto
replace all existing green, yellow and red traf c lights, arrows and pedestrian signals in Guarulhos with the new LED
bulbs. The plan got the green light in November 2005.
With a population of nearly 1.3 million and
one of Brazils main airports, Guarulhos
is the largest city served by Bandeirante
Energia, the second largest city in Sao
Paolo state and the 12th largest incorpo-
rated city in Brazil. That made it an ideal
showcase for the new LED bulb, which until
that point had been used only in a few tiny
Brazilian towns as a proof of concept.
New Breed of Bulb
The sample bulb that impressed Silvestre
was developed by Meng Engenharia Ltda
(www.meng.com.br), a Brazilian company
specializing in highway, urban and industrial
signaling projects. The lamp was based on
a prototype created by engineers at
Philips Lumileds in California, who nick-
named it the bulbeon because of its
resemblance to a conventional light bulb
and its use of the companys LUXEON
brand of power LEDs.
Project Wins National Award

The LED retro t traf c light
project in Guarulhos, Brazil,
earned a rst-place Rational
Use and Energy Conservation
National Award from the Mines
and Energy Ministry of Brazil
in 2007. The annual award
recognizes initiatives that reduce
the use of electric energy and/or
oil or natural gas derivatives in
favor of renewable sources.
The award was given to
Bandeirante Energia S.A., the
electric power distributor that
initiated the project. Bandeirante
Energia provides electric energy
to 1.4 million customers in 28
cities in the State of Sao Paulo.
Guarulhos is the largest city
served by the utility.
I was familiar with LED traf c
signal balls that require replace-
ment of the entire traf c signal
enclosure, but our local Philips
Lumileds representative showed
me a new and less expensive
LED product developed by a
Brazilian company that looked
like a regular light bulb and could
be changed just as easily. That
seemed like a good t for our
needs and resources.
- Wagner Silvestre
Bandeirante Energia Brazil Traf c Lights Case Study (2008/3/27)
3
Meng Engenharia adapted the prototype to traf c light applications in
a version containing seven LUXEON I LEDs per bulb, a built-in power
supply, and the standard E-27 screw-in base used in South America.
The distribution of the LEDs across the bulb was designed to replicate
the basic radiation pattern of an incandescent bulb lament. The LEDs
were positioned to work with the existing re ector inside the traf c light
head to avoid the expense of re ector replacement.

Municipalities using this approach can convert their traf c lights by
simply unscrewing the old incandescent lamp and screwing the new
LED bulb into place. This eliminates the time involved in dismantling the
entire traf c head as required with LED traf c signal balls. It also elimi-
nates the need to employ specially trained work teams to perform the
upgrade.
LUXEON-Enabled Energy Savings
The payoff comes in lowered energy consumption and related savings
in electric bills. Thanks to LED technology in general and LUXEON
ef ciencies in particular, the bulb designed by Meng Engenharia has a 10-watt maximum ratingone-tenth of the 100
watts required to run the conventional traf c lights used in Guarulhos and one-sixth of the 60 watts that drive the citys
pedestrian signals.

The bulbs actual energy usage in Guarulhos has been measured at even lower than 10 watts since the installation was
completed in late 2006. The upshot: the power consumed for the citys vehicular and pedestrian traf c lights on a yearly
basis has plummeted from 1520 megawatt hours before the LED retro t project to just 180 today.

One of the reasons is that LEDs produce far more light and far less
heat per watt than incandescent bulbs because of the inherent
characteristics of solid-state technology. Another is that no watt-
age is wasted on generating unneeded colors and then having to
lter them out to produce red,
yellow or green signals, since
LEDs can produce those
colors directly. The LUXEON
LEDs used in the Guarulhos
bulbs maximize these
advantages with industry-
leading energy ef ciency
achieved through advanced
engineering.
Bene ts at a
Glance
Reduced traf c light

�
energy consumption
90%
Slashed USD$240,000

�
off annual electric bill
Easy eld replacement

�
with regular work crews
Bulbs last 5-10

�
times longer than
incandescents
Reduced maintenance

�
costs
Helped utility comply

�
with energy-saving law
Paid for itself in 12

�
months
Freed funds to install

�
additional traf c lights Model for Other Municipalities
Equally important is the longevity
of the bulb. In contrast to incan-
descent traf c lights that must be
replaced every one or two years,
LUXEON-based luminaires can
run non-stop for 10 years. This
offsets the higher costs of the LED
xtures, reduces bulb replacement
costs over the long term and lowers
manpower expenses for manually
changing light bulbs, adding to the
savings in energy bills.
With its relatively low capital cost,
maintenance advantages and
ability to provide a fast LED retro t
w