New Delhi: To save energy and provide a much better lighting experience, Delhi Metro has undertaken a massive drive to replace the existing conventional lights (Incandescent Bulbs, Fluorescent Lamps, CFL lamps) with LED lights at 155 locations covering Metro stations, depots and parking which DMRC constructed/opened for the public under DMRC’s Phase-I (2005) and Phase-II (2010).

DMRC has already covered 75 per cent of the drive-in in recent months by introducing around 1 lakh LED lights by supplanting the conventional lights at these locations. The remaining 25 per cent of the drive will be concluded by the end of October 2021, wherein DMRC will install around 35,000 LED lights in the remaining portion of these locations.

The operational life of traditional lights, which were installed in Phase-I/II, was around ten years. DMRC decided to replace these lights that are well past their effective age with these new ages LED lights that are cost-effective and energy-efficient. The LED-based light system will help DMRC save around half of the energy expenditure vis-a-vis the existing lighting system. As a result, the total cost of installing these lights will be recovered by DMRC in around two years.

The lifespan of LED is long as compared to existing conventional lights with much-reduced maintenance cost. The average LED lasts 50,000 operating hours or more. It is more than 40 times the lifespan of an incandescent bulb. In addition, LED lights have energy efficiency components, making them consume a meagre amount of power. 

Undertaking this drive-in already operational station was a challenging task for the DMRC maintenance teams. As there is regular movement of people, the work had to be executed in the night due to safety reasons, which increased the installation time. Even during the night, the result could be carried out for around two hours only in a day since the time window available from the close of the last passenger service, and commencement of first passenger service is very limited. Other important operational preparedness and routine maintenance activities are undertaken in this period only. DMRC had to arrange special scaffoldings and cranes to cover the spaces twice or thrice the average height of a building, which is again very tricky and time-consuming.

DMRC has already implemented LED-based lighting solutions at its Phase-III stations, and Phase-IV will also adopt a similar system for upcoming stations.