There is something vital, almost mystical to driving through long stretches of road in America. Some people just want to get in their cars and drive across the 3,119,884.69 square miles of the contiguous United States. But the sun is only out half the time, dealing a default hazard to drivers when it comes to visibility. Adequate street lighting combats this issue, and ANSI C136.15-2020: Roadway And Area Lighting Equipment – Luminaire Field Identification helps identify the road lights that help you see the road.
The Value of Roads Across the United States
In 1956, President Eisenhower signed what popularly is known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act. What resulted remains as an integral part of the nation’s infrastructure and way of life: the Interstate Highway System.
Beyond the connection Americans have to the roads, the 4.18 million miles of road in the United States serve the integral purpose of supporting commerce, jobs, and mobility. The transportation system is essential to the country’s economy. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that every $1 billion in highway spending supports 13,000 jobs. Furthermore, transportation investment supports 4 million U.S. jobs across all sectors. Overall, trucks were involved with 82% of the $18 trillion in freight shipped in the US.
In total, guided by the nearly 275 million vehicles in the country, Americans travel over 5 billion miles by all transportation nodes each year.
How ANSI C136.15-2020 Supports Roadway Lighting Equipment
Visibility is essential for roadway lighting. With area lighting, it is even a matter of protecting the public. Roadway lighting is the focus of several standards published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). ANSI C136.15-2020, an American National Standard, details markings for luminaries used for this lighting. In doing so, it provides a simple, uniform method for manufacturers and users to identify the light source type and wattage lighting for road lighting luminaires. For solid-state lighting, the identification method includes lumen value and correlated color temperature.
Markings on luminaires on the road and spread across long stretching highways are exposed to the elements. As such, ANSI C136.15-2020 calls for UV protection. Ultimately, maintaining clear, uniform markings convey the light sources and wattages of a luminaire is essential. To meet this need, the standard outlines dimensions, materials, method of attachment, and the location of the marker. For High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Systems and Solid State and Fluorescent Systems, ANSI C136.15-2020 thoroughly details marker size, appropriate dimensional characteristics, and other pertinent information.
ANSI C136.15-2020: Roadway And Area Lighting Equipment – Luminaire Field Identification is available on the ANSI Webstore.
