The City of Los Angeles plans to replace 140,000 existing streetlight fixtures in the city with LED (light-emitting diode) units over the next five years.
The initiative, was announced in Los Angeles yesterday by former President Bill Clinton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The project is said to be the largest LED street lighting retrofit project ever undertaken by a city. It is a joint effort between the City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Lighting and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI).
The new units are expected to reduce the city’s electricity use and save money in the process.
While typical streetlight lamps will last from four to six years, LED fixtures have a longer life span, estimated from 10 to 12 years.
The new, white-light LED streetlight units are said to be more durable and damage-resistant than other technologies. They are also expected to reduce sky glow–the artificial illumination of the night sky.
"If you have ever been to Death Valley National Park and looked up on a clear night, you would see that the stars seem to be dimmer than they were when I was a child. But they are not getting dimmer, really–the rest of the sky is getting brighter because of all the lights from Los Angeles and Las Vegas and other surrounding cities and communities," President Clinton said.
Once this overhaul is fully complete, L.A. will save electricity expended on street lighting in the city by a minimum of 40% and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40,500 tons a year, which is the equivalent of taking 6,700 passenger vehicles off the road every year, according to a CCI release.
Over a seven-year period, the city will save a total of $48 million and reduce carbon emissions by 197,000 tons. After the loan is repaid in seven years, L.A. will continue to save $10 million annually as a direct result of this lighting retrofit project. In addition, this loan will have no adverse impact on city funds, as the loan payments will be covered in full by savings from current energy and maintenance costs.
With nearly 35 million streetlights in the United States, it is estmated that about 1% of all electricity is used by street lighting systems.
"If every city followed the example of Los Angeles and reduced the electricity used by their streetlights by 50%, it would be equivalent to eliminating over 2.5 of those coal plants per year," President Clinton said. "We would do that while saving taxpayers money. And by doing that, we would also reclaim our night sky."
CCI currently is building upon its efforts with L.A. and working with other cities on large-scale street lighting retrofit projects.
In January, New York City began testing six new streetlamp designs to employ LEDs.
In Related News…
The nation’s biggest public utility voted on Tuesday to impose water rationing in Los Angeles for the first time in nearly two decades.
Read Reuters coverage at the link below.
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We just got the new LED streetlights installed in my neighborhood and I HATE THEM!!! They are way to bright and the color is terrible. WE used to have a nice ambiance in the neighborhood but that is now gone. I’m all for saving energy but they need to find a light that looks good. These don’t!!!
The color of the new LED street light is bright and and is unilateral. Hence not getting a nice ambiance in the neighborhood where it is lighted. These demerits of bright lights can be solved by designing new LEDs having colors emitted like Sodium Vapor Lamps. It is expected that that will be materialized soon by modifying the yellow colour LEDs.
We in Hollywood, CA just exchanged our old street lighting with new LED units. What an improvement, wow! The illumination is brighter, much more even and the color rendition is amazing. The plants are green and the flowers are red. I’ts a lot like walking under a full moon, without the buzz of electricity.
Love, love, love these new lights. I feel much safer when walking my dog around our neighborhood. They are bright and that’s what we need. Good job LA. Money well spent….
Soon all towns and cities will be able to change to energy efficient lighting. Companies like Kardings offer lease to own, meaning no money down, no grants needed and savings realized immediately with subsidy payments. Proven light fixtures with 5 year warranties.Sign up every municipality in my view.
John, you’re an idiot who thinks like an old FART!
the new lights are putting the plants and trees into a 24 hr light cycle…soon all of los angeles will be on a 24 hr light cycle… i dont know what the effects are gonne be but it cant be good
Was the reference verified regarding the 35 million streetlights in America? If it was please tell me the source because we have a sincere debate going on here.
Just got these lights on the street. Absolutely Horrible. Feel like I’m living in a stadium. Thanks for ruining the ambiance of the neighborhood. How can something 10x brighter reduce light pollution? Yea I’m sure we will see the savings reflected on our elec bill…not.
We just received our. I’m not sure how these are going to reduce light pollution because these babies are super bright. It’s like a full moon all the time now. Much to intense and not warm in color. Feels like “Welcome to Hospital Street” instead of welcome home.
Nice improvement, streets feel safer plus less impact on the enviroment
Can anyone suggest where I can get 200 street lights/poles for a boardwalk project, would love them to be donated if possible.
Niagara Falls NY
HATE THEM TO BRIGHT
vehicles have headlights, pedestrians do not…thus light pedestrian walkways/paths…..use reflective surfaces to guide those with headlights