Introducing New Zealand’s first warm white Street Lighting

Hamilton City and Waikato District councils,

New Zealand

High quality street lighting helps make Hamilton and its environs an attractive place to live and work.

Hamilton City and Waikato District councils, New Zealand
Signify developed an adaptive custom luminaire which offers the best lighting performance for our increasingly high-density city where even the busier arterial roads have significant street front housing. For a project of this size and complexity, partnering with both the manufacturer and supplier to deliver a whole package was the best way to provide value to ratepayers.
- Richard Briggs, CEO, Hamilton City Council
Hamilton City and Waikato District councils, New Zealand

Customer challenge

Hamilton city and the neighbouring Waikato district are growing fast with many of the region’s major arterial roads surrounded by densely populated residential areas. Street lighting must create a safe environment for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians while not spilling over into people’s homes.

The right lighting

In 2018 communities throughout, Hamilton City and Waikato District became the first in New Zealand to enjoy Signify’s ‘warm white’ LED lighting solution, custom designed to reduce spillover glare into houses while being less harsh on the eyes and more energy efficient. While numerous towns and cities throughout New Zealand have replaced older HID lights with LEDs, Hamilton is the first to specify a 3000 Kelvin luminaire. This produces a more welcoming light compared to the more common 4000 Kelvin LEDs whose cooler blue-white light is similar to daylight. The new LEDs fit into existing street light poles and infrastructure, create less light pollution, are more energy efficient and require less maintenance. As a result, Hamilton City expects to save over $250,000 in reduced power and maintenance costs in the first year, and almost $550,000 in 2019/20. “The requirement for less frequent maintenance will also reduce the amount of time our staff are exposed to risks associated with working at height and around road traffic, while minimizing associated disruption to the public,” says Todd Mylchreest, Maintenance Contract Manager at Waikato District Alliance.