The benefits of LED technology in rotating marine beacons

Transcription

1 The benefits of LED technology in rotating marine beacons WHITE PAPER Marine navigation has been rewarded with new technology which has made shipping safer. LED beacons have provided the biggest improvement to marine navigation since the invention of the lightbulb in lighthouses, Arjen Maarleveld. Cape Reinga Lighthouse by Jim Foye Maritime New Zealand

2 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this white paper is to highlight the practical and economic benefits of using LED technology such as the VRB-25 LED in marine rotating beacons, compared with incandescent rotating beacons. This paper outlines a brief history of the evolution of marine beacons, followed by a case study to demonstrate the benefits of replacing an incandescent rotating beacon with a VRB-25 LED beacon. Four key areas are identified where port and lighthouse authorities can benefit from the switch to LED technology, including: reduced maintenance, decreased power consumption, increased reliability and the opportunity for remote monitoring. THE HISTORY OF LIGHT BELL ROCK LIGHTHOUSE Every mariner will tell you lighthouses and beacons are the most crucial part of safe sailing. Some mark dangerous sunken reefs, others mark the major point of a coastline, while others guide vessels through treacherous waters. Although lighthouses have been in existence for thousands of years, the effective modern lighthouse that we are used to seeing today has come to take shape in the past 300 years. Early beacons produced light by burning whale oil or kerosene and were prone to problems. The light was focused by mirrors or large Fresnel lenses that comprised hundreds of pieces of curved glass. To get the light to flash, the mirrors or lenses would rotate around the flame which is what creates the visual light beams that rotate around a lighthouse. As these complex mechanisms were prone to jamming, they required the constant attention of a lighthouse keeper. HOW EFFECTIVE IS A LIGHTHOUSE? Bell Rock Reef wrecked an average of six ships per year. In 1804, after the loss of HMS York with 491 people on board, it was decided to build a lighthouse to illuminate the sunken reef. Since then, there has only been one wrecking, which occurred during a light-out period in Since the 1950s, many beacons were automated and the lighthouses were demanned. Factors that contributed to this were the conversion from oil to incandescent lamps, automatic diesel generators, and the invention of solar panels and lead acid batteries. lamps could reliably be switched on by timers and the rotating lenses could be driven by electric motors. The small vessels that were used to supply remote lighthouses with provisions were replaced by biannual chartered helicopter visits to re-lamp (re-lamping is the process of replacing several light bulbs inside the beacon s lamp-changing mechanism). 1

3 THE RAPID ADVANCEMENT OF LED TECHNOLOGY Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology has rapidly advanced since its introduction in the 1960s. Roughly every 10 years, the light output increased by a factor of 20, while the costs fell by a factor of 10. By the late 1990s, LEDs were bright enough to be used in navigational beacons. In this section LED technology and its application with rotating marine beacons will be discussed. The most significant benefits are: 1. A lower level of maintenance is required as LEDs have a lifespan of over 10 years, significantly reducing the cost of keeping rotating beacons functioning in remote locations. 2. Power efficiency is more than 5 times better (as of 2017) than an equivalent-powered incandescent beacon. The initial set-up can be carried out with a smaller budget because smaller batteries and solar panels are required. 3. LEDs are controlled digitally, which also allows for greater control and monitoring via the internet. Issues can be addressed before they affect the beacon s performance. This prevents beacon failure, which can lead to costly delays in marine traffic. 4. The compact size of the LED beacon, battery and solar panels enables an entire light to be housed in one structure. WHAT S SO DIFFERENT ABOUT LED TECHNOLOGY? Traditional incandescent lamps transmit light by heating up. At 600 C, they start to glow red and at over 2000 C, the light appears white. Most of the light (97%) cannot be seen because it is wasted as heat in the infrared spectrum band. LEDs are different. Instead of heating up to produce light, they use a phenomenon called electroluminescence (electrons releasing energy in the form of a proton while jumping the gap between two different materials). As a result, LEDs don t need to heat up to 2000 C to produce white light. In fact, most LEDs stay well below 90 C while giving off the same colour light as an incandescent lamp at 6500 C. Figure 1: Brothers Island Lighthouse (NZ) was built in 1877 and de-manned in Figure 2: Brothers Island Light (NZ) is visited by helicopter for maintenance and re-lamping. 2

4 INTRODUCTION OF LED BEACONS TO MARINE NAVIGATION In 1997, Vega introduced the VLB- 27, the first LED marine beacon. It dramatically changed the aids to the navigation industry. The LED beacon did not have lamps that needed to be changed. It was assembled with LEDs that could illuminate for over 11 years without needing any servicing. This new technology was 20 times more efficient than an equivalent-powered incandescent beacon, and large solar panel and battery packs were replaced with units 10 to 20 times smaller than what was previously required. A drawback of early LED beacons was that they didn t have the nostalgic aesthetics expected in traditional lighthouses. Besides being smaller than a comparative Fresnel lens-type beacon, they also did not produce the sweeping beams of light that observers associated with lighthouses. Many observers complained about the abrupt flash of an LED beacon, as they were accustomed to seeing a gentle build-up of intensity followed by a slow fade-out. LED Technology Then Now Product VLB-27 VRB-25 LED Design year Effective Intensity 77cd 205,000cd Suitable for historic lighthouses Table 1: The VRB-25 LED beacon provides enough effective intensity for use in lighthouses. In response to this, Vega went back to the drawing board. They took their successful VRB-25 incandescent beacon and designed a new rotating LED optical mechanism. From the outside, the design resembled the incandescent VRB-25; however, internally it was a digital LED beacon. The optical system was designed for surface-mounted LEDs, which created a highly efficient beacon. Simply replacing the incandescent light bulbs with LEDs was ruled out as it created dim and non-uniform lighting. With the VRB-25 LED, a lighthouse maintained its nostalgic characteristics while benefiting from LED technology. No Yes 1912 Automatic sun- 280 (BC) Pharos lighthouse built in Egypt valve invented to turn beacons on at night and off at day 1997 LED first used in marine beacon (VLB-27) 2014 Rotating beacon converted to LED 2008 Internet- based control and monitoring of marine beacons THE EVOLUTION OF LIGHTHOUSE TECHNOLOGY 1698 Eddystone Lighthouse, first offshore beacon 1950 electric lighting replaces flame lighting. Lighthouse de-manning begins 2003 First self- contained LED beacon VLB PEL sector light converted to LED 3

5 FOUR ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF VRB-25 LED 1. INSTALLATION COST A customer wanted to upgrade their incandescent rotating beacon with a VRB-25 LED to reduce their high maintenance costs and preserve the heritage look of their lighthouse. Although the price of the new LED beacon was higher than the incandescent equivalent by 62%, once the smaller solar panel and batteries were included the total outlay reduced to 30% more than the incandescent alternative. 2. MAINTENANCE COST REDUCTION rotating beacons require a budgeted maintenance plan of at least two visits per year for re-lamping and preventative care. There may also be unscheduled visits, where lamps fail. These unplanned visits are costly, as they are under time pressure to replace the faulty lamp as quickly as possible and the resources have not been pre-allocated. In the example below, the customer spends approximately USD 3,400 per annum as a minimum to maintain the incandescent beacon. The table below details the financial differences between these two technology options. The prices are in USD for locally sourced equipment and services: Re-lamping Costs (helicopter charter) (boat charter LED no relamping Capital Expenditure LED Rotating 18NM Beacon 12,000 19,500 Solar Panels (620W vs 120W) Battery (520Ah vs 100Ah) 2, Solar regulator (30A vs 10A) Capital Expense Total 15,510 20,270 Table 2: When investigating the costs of an LED rotating beacon, consider the total outlay. Labour (five hours) Lamps (Marine Halogen x6) Transport Charter (15 NM away) Re-lamping total Annual Op E (x2) , ,700 1, ,400 2,200 0 Table 3: Annual maintenance costs for incandescent beacons are considerably more than LED beacons. beacons require larger solar panels and batteries. LED beacons require smaller solar panels and batteries. 4

6 FOUR ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF VRB-25 LED 3. LONG-TERM COST REDUCTION After the LED rotating beacon has been installed and in service for eighteen months, the cost of ownership becomes cost neutral compared with that of the incandescent beacon. The following table calculates the cost of ownership of the VRB-25 LED over 10 years. The VRB-25 LED total cost of ownership is up to 60% lower than an incandescent alternative, due to the elimination of re-lamping costs and reduction in overall maintenance requirements. In addition to the reduced annual maintenance costs, there is also a saving in the cost of operation. beacons powered off the electrical grid may cost approximately USD 130 per year (assuming 30 cents per kilowatt hour rate). In comparison, LED beacons would only use USD 30 worth of power. Total cost of ownership (helicopter charter) (boat charter) LED Year 0 15,510 15,510 20,270 Year 1 18,910 17,710 20,270 Year 2 22,310 19,910 20,270 Year 3 25,710 22,110 20,270 Year 4 29,110 24,310 20,270 Year 5 32,510 26,510 20,270 Year 6 35,910 28,710 20,270 Year 7 39,310 30,910 20,270 Year 8 42,710 33,110 20,270 Year 9 46,110 35,310 20,270 Year 10 49,510 37,510 20,270 Table 4: After 18 months the VRB-25 LED becomes cost neutral with the incandescent alternative. 4. RELIABILITY AND MONITORING Another significant benefit of LED technology is the ability to monitor it remotely. The VRB-25 LED uses digital drivers, so it can be connected to data loggers that also transmit the state of the beacon in real-time. One such system, provided by Vega, is VegaWeb, which can be used with the VRB-25 LED to view a range of parameters, such as the charge rate of the solar panels, the state of the batteries, as well as control of the beacon. By logging onto the VegaWeb cloud server, the user can effectively monitor the health of the VRB-25 LED without costly visits, and has the opportunity to plan for preventative maintenance if a trend is recognised in the health of the beacon. Figure 3: A VRB-25 LED beacon s voltage over the course of a week as shown on VegaWeb through Vega Automatic Identification System (AIS). THEN Figure 3 shows a beacon as it charges throughout the day to reach a voltage of 14.5V. Throughout the night the beacon is active and the battery discharges to 12.5V. The image is taken over the time span of a week and illustrates a stable and well-balanced beacon system. All this information is available via login to the VegaWeb website. 5

7 CONCLUSION While LED technology was first introduced into marine beacons more than 20 years ago, the introduction of the VRB-25 LED has created a tipping point between the cost of supply, reliability and performance, encouraging leading lighthouse authorities and operators to move to rotating beacons designed around LED technology. This paper has explored the economic costs associated with the installation, maintenance and long-term ownership of a VRB-25 LED compared with an incandescent alternative, as well as the added benefit of remote monitoring, which is only available with LED technology. This case study shows that: After eighteen months of ownership, the cost of a VRB-25 LED is cost neutral with an equivalent-powered incandescent beacon. After 10 years of ownership, the VRB-25 LED provides 60% savings compared with an incandescent alternative. The annual maintenance budget is significantly reduced, as re-lamping and preventative care visits are no longer required twice a year. This saving is estimated at approximately USD 3,400 per annum, or USD 34,000 over a 10-year operating period. The supplementary costs to run a VRB-25 LED are considerably lower, as the VRB-25 LED uses less power. This reduces the size and cost of other equipment required, such as solar panels and batteries, and, by extension, the weight-bearing capacity of towers and structures. VRB-25 LEDs are more reliable and have real-time internet monitoring capability. LED technology will continue to evolve Vega is committed to continue to provide enhanced benefits to manufacturers and mariners in the future. Telephone: Fax: sales@vega.co.nz 21 Heriot Drive, Porirua 5022 Wellington, New Zealand Vega maintains ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System Certification for design and manufacture of all its products. Vega is an Industrial Member of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). 6