I noticed something over the weekend that all you "southerners" don't
have to deal with.

Pretty much all traffic lights are now high output LEDs. Saves energy
and they last a long time, but there's a problem.

After a wind swept snow storm with heavy wet snow that then freezes like
we had Friday, the lights become completely covered and you can't see
which one is on.

The LED's aren't hot enough to melt the snow away like the old fashioned
incandescent types, so even 24 hours after the snow stopped flying you
still can't see which of the lights are lit at many intersections.
Causes quite a bit of confusion until people realize what the issue is.

Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.

On 2/7/2016 5:23 PM, True North wrote:

Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


That thought ran through my mind when I realized that several traffic
lights were working ... you just couldn't see what was on or off.
There was one that I could see red ... but it was very, very faint,
showing through the ice and snow. The green was more visible.

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/7/2016 5:23 PM, True North wrote:

Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for
the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating
element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


That thought ran through my mind when I realized that several traffic
lights were working ... you just couldn't see what was on or off.
There was one that I could see red ... but it was very, very faint,
showing through the ice and snow. The green was more visible.




Leave the bottom of the deflector can open. Snow can not build up then.

On 2/7/2016 5:41 PM, Califbill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/7/2016 5:23 PM, True North wrote:

Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for
the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating
element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


That thought ran through my mind when I realized that several traffic
lights were working ... you just couldn't see what was on or off.
There was one that I could see red ... but it was very, very faint,
showing through the ice and snow. The green was more visible.




Leave the bottom of the deflector can open. Snow can not build up then.


Oh, it does. Nothing to do with the design of the can. The wind
driven, wet snow just gets pasted on the lenses so thick that no light
gets through. The old incandescent bulbs thru enough heat out to melt
anything that stuck and kept a buildup from happening.

Dry fluffy snow isn't a problem. It's the wet, sticky stuff.

True North wrote:
Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


Maybe a ray gun to blast the snow from them from the ground?

On Mon, 8 Feb 2016 20:38:46 -0500, Alex wrote:

True North wrote:
Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


Maybe a ray gun to blast the snow from them from the ground?

===

Or an invisible protective force field?

On 2/8/2016 10:49 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 8 Feb 2016 20:38:46 -0500, Alex wrote:

True North wrote:
Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


Maybe a ray gun to blast the snow from them from the ground?

===

Or an invisible protective force field?


Or even a visor over the lights.

On Tue, 9 Feb 2016 08:28:57 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 2/8/2016 10:49 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 8 Feb 2016 20:38:46 -0500, Alex wrote:

True North wrote:
Oh oh! We build them up here in the Amherst area so the push is on for the city and province to convert. They might have to add a heating element controlled automatically or from the ground to use when needed.


Maybe a ray gun to blast the snow from them from the ground?

===

Or an invisible protective force field?


Or even a visor over the lights.

===

Wind driven snow will get under the visor.

On Sun, 7 Feb 2016 17:12:11 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

I noticed something over the weekend that all you "southerners" don't
have to deal with.

Pretty much all traffic lights are now high output LEDs. Saves energy
and they last a long time, but there's a problem.

After a wind swept snow storm with heavy wet snow that then freezes like
we had Friday, the lights become completely covered and you can't see
which one is on.

The LED's aren't hot enough to melt the snow away like the old fashioned
incandescent types, so even 24 hours after the snow stopped flying you
still can't see which of the lights are lit at many intersections.
Causes quite a bit of confusion until people realize what the issue is.


We have some type of heating element in the light to keep it from freezing over. Yay Virginia DOT.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!