City officials in Michigan and Kansas are turning to LED streetlights.
The city of St. Clair, Michigan will continue to brighten its streets with additional LED streetlights, according to C and G News.
Many mercury vapor streetlights in the city’s northern neighborhoods were replaced with LEDs in 2012 after the city received funding from an Energy Optimization Rebate and partnership with DTE Energy.
Community Development and Inspection Director Chris Rayes told C and G News that thanks to additional funds available from the rebate program, most of the city’s remaining neighborhood streetlights will be replaced with LEDs. Rayes also said some streetlights along Eight Mile Road and Beaconsfield Street, I-94 freeway ramps and Blossom Heath Park may also receive LED installations.
With St. Clair’s current lighting system, the city spends $73,472 annually on energy costs for the street lamps due to the inefficient mercury vapor lighting solutions. However, if all streetlights were converted to LEDs, the city’s annual energy costs would fall to an estimated $45,806, saving St. Clair $27,666 per year, C and G News reported.
The city also enjoys the new streetlights because they do not buzz or make noise like the previous lighting fixtures.
“They are very quiet,” said Rayes. “They are brighter white. They give a sense of more light than the old lights do, and I think they give a better feeling of safety, too.”
City officials in Kansas turn to LEDs
Winfield, Kansas will soon learn the benefits of LED streetlights once it begins testing 12 new fixtures on Main Street, the Winfield Courier reported.
The city wanted to reduce energy usage with new streetlights and found that LEDs will allow the city to cut consumption by almost 70 percent.
“Add to that the fact that LEDs have such a great longevity factor which will save the city additional monies by requiring very little labor to maintain them,” said Alan Dykes, energy manager for the City of Winfield.
The LEDs will replace the city’s existing high pressure sodium lights. A higher Kelvin temperature in the LEDs allows for better coloring and for eyes to process the light more efficiently.
The trial of the LEDs for Winfield will continue for 60 days at which point city officials will have to determine whether to return the lighting solutions or purchase them.
City officials interested in learning more about the benefits of LED streetlights and energy efficient lighting fixtures should contact the lighting specialists at Lumenistics.