Important Information On LED Obstruction Lighting

By Brian Bailey


Usually, warning lights in aircrafts are fitted on tall structures in order to ensure that such structure are visible. The lights serve to notify to the aircraft availability of a tall structure at a given point. While such lights are commonly used at night, they are used during the day as well. These lights should be sufficiently bright such that the structure can be viewed from miles away. It is for this reason that LED obstruction lighting serve an important purpose.

Obstruction lights occur in various groups, generally divided into three. The low-intensity light classification, for instance, is applicable to locations have a low concentration of structures or objects. The category as well has object or structures standing at less than 45 meters from ground level.

The second type of these obstruction lights is the medium intensity lights. In this case, the medium intensity obstacle light is used where the structure or the object is quite extensive. Basically, the height of the object above the surrounding ground should be greater than 45 meters for this types of lights to be used. The third category is the high intensity obstacle lights that are used to show presence of an object that extends above 150 meters.

Today, however, regulations recommends the use of white strobes during the day and red lights at night. This is because pilots have been found to easily see the red lights, thereby being commonly used in urban areas. The white strobes are, however, not commonly used in urban areas, since they are not recommendable for densely populated areas.

Spotting white strobes when flying at night, however, remains tricky. It is on this basis that their preferred use is normally during the day as opposed to being used at night. Additionally, various health concerns are posed by the strobes to individuals living within their vicinity. Medium-intensity strobes of white are commonly placed on structures that stand 200-500 feet tall above ground level. However, if medium-intensity light is placed on a structure standing 500 feet tall from ground level, some painting will be necessary.

High-intensity white strobes may be utilized on structures extending to 700feets or beyond as this ensures that these structures remain easy to notice. They may as well also be utilized both in the day and at night. On the other hand, most if not all aircrafts come with warning lights fitted on them for easy identification by other aircrafts as they fly. These lights include the white flashing beacons, landing lights, wingtip navigation lights as well as wingtip strobes.

Mostly, the obstruction lighting are designed such that the maintenance team receive warning in case of malfunction. They usually contain an in-built alarm that produces a sound if there is a problem. Apart from safety, these types of lights are also eco-friendly. They do not have any negative effect to the environment.

Additionally, these obstacle-lights are made of high-quality materials that call for minimal maintenance or replacement costs. The quality components as well assure a longer service period. Because of the efficiency levels exhibited by such lights, low electric bill will be paid owing to the fact that they consume only little electric energy.




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