The Institute of Transportation Engineers developed the national standard for LED traffic signal heads. The standard has been developed over several decades in partnership with the public and private sectors. The standard has been adopted and used across the country and has been the basis for U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to convert all signal heads to LED’s. The regulation for LED traffic signal modules, quoting ITE specifications was part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
In recent years the issue of ice and snow build-up on the lens has been noted as an issue by both public agencies and in the news media. The lack of heat from the LED’s vs. an incandescent light source has been identified as a problem.
The goal of this project is to address the subject more formally and by convening a workshop of users and manufacturers, as well as representatives from the following stakeholder associations such as AASHTO, NEMA, IMSA, APWA, FHWA and ITE and the U.S. Department of Energy to discuss the issue and possible solutions. The ultimate goal is to revise the existing standard to address snow and ice build-up while fulfilling all other characteristics called for in this standard.