Jul 11 2010
LED Streetlights Rollout in Ballard
As you know, streetlight maintenance and a transition to LED streetlights has been one of my priorities over the past two years. You also know that great progress has been made on both fronts.
On July 7th, I participated in a celebration of the launch of our city’s LED streetlight project, with the first unit installed in front of the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library. This year 5,000 LED streetlights will be installed and 10,000 more in 2011. More information about the event and LED deployment can be found in the press release below.
SEATTLE CITY LIGHT BEGINS LED STREETLIGHT ROLLOUT
Ballard Installations the First of 5,000 in 2010
SEATTLE — Seattle City Light celebrated the launch of its LED streetlight project today with the first installations in Ballard.
“Our community can be proud of City Light’s work to improve streetlight service while strengthening public safety, saving taxpayer dollars, using less energy and reducing our impact on the environment,” Mayor Mike McGinn said.
With lower energy and maintenance costs, City Light expects the LED streetlights to save $294,000 in the first year and $2.4 million per year once all 40,000 have been installed.
“We are entering a new era in street lighting,” Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. “LEDs use 40 percent less energy and last three times longer than the high-pressure sodium lights that have been the standard for the past 30 years. That means better reliability, less maintenance, a longer life cycle, and lower operating costs for our customers.”
City Light will install 5,000 LED streetlights in residential neighborhoods this year and a total of 40,000 during the next five years. The 2010 installations will take place from the Ship Canal to 65th Street. The utility also started pilot projects to test LED streetlights on arterial roads.
The LEDs being installed generate a white light that is comparable to moonlight. This enhances peripheral vision and depth of field, making it easier to see small objects in the road and reducing the color distortion caused by the amber glow of existing high-pressure sodium lights. Finally, the LEDs provide better control over where the light is directed, reducing spillover into home windows and the night sky.
“Simply put, LED technology provides better lighting at a lower cost,” Councilmember Bruce Harrell said. “This is smart use of the public’s money and enhances public safety.”
Seattle City Light is the ninth largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
