LED Roadway Lighting is developing the next generation of energy-efficient outdoor lighting, which will feature dimming technology that is triggered during periods of low traffic volume.

Ken Cartmill,  Vice President of Business Development at the Halifax manufacturer, told a business forum the company is in the research stage of developing lighting devices that will dim, and therefore use less electricity, at non-peak periods or when traffic is low.

“We’re working on innovative control systems that would turn lights down whenever there is less activity in an area,” said Cartmill, speaking at an Innovacorp Business over Breakfast seminar on CleanTech last week.

LED Roadway Lighting manufactures LED-based outdoor lighting fixtures that have been installed by more than 300 municipal, utility, and commercial clients in 24 countries. The company says its fixtures last 20 years, greatly reducing maintenance costs, and produce energy savings of up to 80 percent. Some versions are powered by wind and/or solar.

While the company’s technology is now advanced enough to compete internationally, companies around the world are investing heavily in R&D to produce the next generation of LED lighting. Those advances could lead to greater overall energy efficiency, lower production costs or smart devices that will reducing lighting when less lighting is needed. LED Roadway is now developing technology that will again lead the market when it is commercialized in several years. 

LED Roadway Lighting, which has its research and design centre in Halifax and a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Amherst, last month selected Sony UK to manufacture its lighting fixtures to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding U.K. and European markets.

The founder and CEO of the company, Ken’s dad Chuck Cartmill, was recently named to the Clean50, a list of 50 Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the green economy.

In June, the company raised $11.6 million in later-stage financing, comprising $4-million from Montreal-based venture capital firm Cycle Capital, $4 million from previous investor Nova Scotia Business Inc., and $3.6 million from Chuck Cartmill.