Residents of Albuquerque have noticed certain street lights appear purple when the sun goes down. While this has raised concerns, the city says they are being replaced.
“It is a manufacturer defect in the lights and the manufacturer is aware of the issue,” said Dan Mayfield, a spokesperson for Albuquerque’s Municipal Development Department.
More than 20,000 of the city’s street lights were converted to LED lights in 2017 to improve energy efficiency and public safety. Mayfield said the fluorescent phosphor coating on the lights — which makes them white — has disappeared, causing them to appear purple.
“The natural color of LED is that purple and there is a yellow coating on the inside of the light to make it turn white,” he said. “There is no way to tell when the coating is going to go bad or not. The lights are the same brightness and still put out the same amount of lumens, they are just a different color.”
According to Mayfield, since the lights have a 10-year warranty there is no additional cost for the replacement of the lights. The manufacturer, Dalkia Energy Solutions, will be in charge of locating which lights have disintegrated coatings and replacing them.
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