At Relumination, we try to keep up with the latest LED lighting industry and installation news through our blogs and news posts. Though we have written many blogs about it in the past, one of the more popular installations of LEDs in cities, and even small towns, is street lighting. The benefits of LED street lights outweigh the costs! The lights are brighter and whiter than the dim, yellowish hue street lights usually have, and some can also be dimmed. They also consume less than half as much energy as high-pressure sodium lights.
Arizona installed LEDs nationwide, including 425 LED street lights in Kingman last March. The city has 900 high-pressure sodium street lights, most of which consume 250 watts, but some produce 400 watts. Though the installation will only cover about half of the lights, the city is expected to decrease energy production by at least 40%. City officials piloted different LED lights and induction lights to judge their performance and light quality. The city officials were most impressed with LEDs, and the citizens appreciated the “softer light.” This project is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.
In the Okemos downtown area in Michigan, citizens recently gathered to “Turn on the Lights” of their 25 new LED street lights. Paul Brake, executive director of the Okemos Downtown Development Authority, said the new LED lighting is “one step closer” to becoming a “green” township through cutting energy consumption and carbon emissions. According to an article from the Towne Courier, the new LEDs will consume approximately 59% less energy than incandescent lamps. This project was also partially funded through the U.S. DOE EECBS.
