
LED traffic lights reduce electricity costs, but they can’t melt snow

Years ago I worked in an office where the oversized computers we used to run EMS CAD software ran so hot that they provided enough heat to fill the room in the winter, making the office pleasantly toasty. Another old device that generated plenty of excess heat was traffic lights with incandescent bulbs. But it turns out, as snowbound municipalities are just now discovering, that that excess heat was very useful for melting accumulated snow. Now that everyone’s switched over to cooler-running LEDs, snow tends to pile up and obscure the lights, leading to a situation that’s annoying at best and dangerous at worst. For now, local governments are coping by sending crews out in snowstorms to clean the lights off with compressed air and brushes…










|
EmilyLozano (Emily Lozano) : RT @core77 Pretty bad-ass: A cement coffeemaker! http://bit.ly/ca0Pvb * Seriously bad-ass!!.. Updated : 2010-07-29T18:27:33Z | Reply | View Tweet |
|
ski7days (michael) : Nice RT @core77: Pretty bad-ass: A cement coffeemaker! http://bit.ly/ca0Pvb.. Updated : 2010-07-29T18:27:15Z | Reply | View Tweet |
|
iBlend (Louis Gubitosi) : RT @core77: Daniel Dobrogorsky's Koolhaus faucet concept helps monitor your water consumption http://bit.ly/d4XZcU.. Updated : 2010-07-29T18:26:30Z | Reply | View Tweet |
|
mielleux (Jasmine Wilson) : RT @core77: "The Four Phases of Design Thinking" - http://bit.ly/cSevaI.. Updated : 2010-07-29T18:26:07Z | Reply | View Tweet |
|
rj3sp (rj3sp) : SIGGRAPH 2010: Sony's 3D display doesn't require glasses - Core77 http://bit.ly/d0Sfi6.. Updated : 2010-07-29T18:24:14Z | Reply | View Tweet |
-
1993 AT&T Ads About the Future Scary Accurate
[Tech Industry News]Narrated by Tom Selleck, and directed by Fight Club's David Fincher, the ads began in 1993 and were (mostly) remarkably accurate, predicting: E-Books, in-car GPS, tablet PCs, E-ZPass, video conferencing, and video on demand.
-
How to Fool a Stoplight Into Thinking Your Bike is a Car
[Gadgets]Every street biker knows the pain in waiting to cross a busy intersection. Now, the Traffic Loop Sensor Activator gives you an alternative to sweating for minutes at a time in the midst of high-speed traffic, waiting for a green light that never comes. Just ride over the sensor usually made just for cars, press a button, and watch the light change!
-
Pixel Dog (PIC)
[Pets & Animals]A few ad campaigns have manifested the lo-res pixel into the real world to make this point but this one's done well. Great viral marketing.
-
Wicked iTunes Visualizer
[Apple]This is the future of visuals. God help you if you smoke the reefer cause you can kiss your productivity goodbye.
-
Design for London and the 2012 Olympics
[Design]PingMag has a nice interview up with Eleanor Fawcett from Design for London, "the Mayor of London's new urbanism and architecture team to support the delivery of a world class, sustainable and inclusive built environment across London. [via core77]...



































