# How Lighthouses Work 3, Exercise 3: lamps compared, and a range check # Filament against LED over ten years, and the Souter and Bell Rock intensities through the range model. import math NM = 1852.0 def transmissivity(visibility_nm): return 0.05 ** (1 / visibility_nm) def luminous_range_nm(intensity_cd, visibility_nm, threshold_lx=2e-7): t = transmissivity(visibility_nm) lo, hi = 0.01, 200.0 for _ in range(100): mid = (lo + hi) / 2 e = intensity_cd * t ** mid / (mid * NM) ** 2 if e > threshold_lx: lo = mid else: hi = mid return (lo + hi) / 2 def geographic_range_nm(light_m, eye_m): return 3.86 * (math.sqrt(light_m) + math.sqrt(eye_m)) / 1.852 # Assumptions: 1,500 lm wanted, 4,380 dark hours a year, efficacy and lifetime from the chapter HOURS = 4380 for name, eff, life in (("Filament", 15, 1000), ("LED", 102, 50000)): watts = 1500 / eff kwh_year = watts * HOURS / 1000 lamps_10y = math.ceil(10 * HOURS / life) print(name, round(watts, 1), "W", round(kwh_year), "kWh a year", lamps_10y, "lamps in 10 years") print(round(102 / 15, 1), "x the lumens per watt") # Souter's quoted 800,000 cd against the Bell Rock's current 1,900,000 cd print(round(luminous_range_nm(800_000, 10), 1), round(luminous_range_nm(1_900_000, 10), 1)) print(round(1_900_000 / 800_000, 2), "x the intensity") # Output when run: # Filament 100.0 W 438 kWh a year 44 lamps in 10 years # LED 14.7 W 64 kWh a year 1 lamps in 10 years # 6.8 x the lumens per watt # 25.1 27.4 # 2.38 x the intensity # # Lines 1 and 2: the 15 lm/W filament draws 100 W, uses 438 kWh a year, and needs 44 lamps of # 1,000 hours in 10 years; the 102 lm/W LED draws 14.7 W, uses 64 kWh a year, and needs one. # Line 3: that is 6.8 times the lumens per watt. Line 4: the model gives 25.1 nm for Souter's # 800,000 cd and 27.4 nm for 1,900,000 cd. Line 5: 2.38 times the intensity gives only about 9 # per cent more range. The Wikipedia page for the Bell Rock lists a range of 18 nmi, less than # the 27.4 nm of this model; I do not know how the listed figure was set (the geographic range # for a 28 m focal height and an eye 5 m up is about 15.7 nm), so treat the gap as unexplained # and not as a finding.