Wiltshire may have now stopped using SON lanterns for new installations in favour of LED. Although LED lanterns (Urbis Axias) had been used for the last 2 years on some footpaths on replacement columns, main roads and residential streets had still been using Philips (Indal) SON Arcs for new installations. However,
this casual replacement of a GEC Z9480 35W SOX, uses a Philips Luma LED lantern. The same type of lantern has also been spotted on new columns that have replaced older concrete columns - a situation that had until recently, used Arcs.
A couple of months further on, it does looks like the end of SOX when it comes to lanterns needing repair.
A 10m column with a GEC Z9554 that has been without a bowl for more than a year, has had the GEC removed, the bracket cut off, and a Luma mounted post top.
What this means for "maintained" SOX is unclear. Several years ago, Wiltshire specifically said they wouldn't undertake a mass LED conversion as the costs were too high. Selective part night operation using the Telensa CMS system was implemented instead.
Whilst part night should increase lamp life, they won't last forever. As SOX tubes increase in cost - and production could well stop in the future - will the reduced price of LED lanterns, force a rethink? Or will Wilts retrofit LED lamps into the current residential SOX lanterns - perfectly feasible, and replace the much smaller number of remaining main road SOX lanterns with LED?