Every year, thousands of streetlights are replaced and repaired across America, almost always going without a hitch. But within the last few months, as bulbs are switched out in Southern and Midwestern cities, many have taken notice of their new and abnormal purple color. What’s causing this neon flaw? Who’s responsible? The Connector investigates.
A stark difference from the yellowish white hue we’re used to, conspiracies have started to float around to explain the secret behind the odd streetlights. Are they better for the environment? Do they have anything to do with the holidays? One Facebook user suggested that those vaccinated against COVID-19 are supposed to glow under the street lamps. In fact, it’s none of the above. The truth is much more mundane, with it all being chalked up to a manufacturing error. According to a Duke Energy representative, “The change in color is due to (a) manufacturer defect that was recently identified and is being addressed. The defect causes the color of the light to gradually turn purple.” A little bit of a let down after talks of conspiracy theories.
The affected lights were mostly those that were much older and in need of repair. Duke has been working to switch out traditional bulbs with LEDs over the last few years, changing the original sodium vapor bulbs with the energy and cost efficient alternative. Usually, you would expect a white color when an old-fashioned sodium vapor bulb is replaced, but with the broken LEDs, a purple spell has been cast on these veteran lamps.
Although Atlanta has its fair share of defective street lamps, Florida, North and South Carolina, and multiple states in the midwest have been hit hard by the malfunction. There, it is expected that 1 in every thousand lights are now purple. That’s a significant number when there are more than 200,000 streetlights in an average metro city!
If you do come across a purple streetlight, there is a hotline to call and assure it’s repair. By using Duke’s online streetlight repair tool, technicians will report to the scene and fix the faulty light. However, if you’re part of the group that’s become infatuated with the purple lights, there’s always the option to ignore reporting them, attributing to the population that’s survived over the last few months, continuing to confuse citizens across America.
