Editorial: LED street lights save money, curb energy demand

Forty-five million municipal street lights consumed about 7 percent of the all electricity used for lighting across the United States in 2011, according to Chicago-based Navigant Consulting.

Trimming the amount of energy used to light America’s urban thoroughfares led light from china can produce a dramatic reduction in electric demand, reducing the stress on the nation’s already strained power grid and reducing the need for new and costly electric generation plants fueled by fossil fuels or renewable sources.

It was refreshing to recently learn that first-year Binghamton Mayor Rich David is seeking proposals to install energy-efficient LED technology to replace the city’s 7,000 street lights. LEDs are up to twice as efficient as high-pressure sodium bulbs now in use.

“A central part of my strategy to save taxpayer money is identifying inefficiencies in daily operations,” David said in a statement. “The city’s energy costs are significant and are on the rise each year.”

In 2013, the city spent $1.47 million on energy expenses LED g24. Of that, $534,751 was spent on street lighting.

Even though natural gas prices (electricity prices have been historically linked to natural gas prices) are expected to remain near current levels because of the prevalence of shale-related discoveries, it is still a wise move to reduce consumption as part of a national conservation effort.

New York City announced a plan in November 2013 to convert 250,000 of its streetlights to LED bulbs through 2017 with a $76.5 million price tag. LED bulbs are six to seven time brighter than traditional high-pressure sodium street lights.

The nation’s electric consumption has been relatively flat since 2005, according to LED mini spot light data collected by the Energy Information Administration. That is because of a concerted effort by industrial, municipal and residential consumers to use more efficient appliances, lighting and other amenities powered by electricity. Traditional economic models would indicate that reduced demand usually leads to lower prices. That’s good for everyone.

Estimated cost for replacing all city street lights: about $4 million. But energy savings and reduced maintenance costs from using LED technology are expected to pay the upfront cost for the conversion. Any financial whiz doing a net present value or rate of return calculation on this investment will tell you that the proposed Binghamton project is well worth its initial cost.