Springfield is replacing all of its 499 streetlights this year with energy efficient LED lights, and the switch will save the town money.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120402/NEWS02/704029957
Published April 2, 2012 in the Rutland Herald
New energy efficient streetlights coming to Springfield
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield is replacing all of its 499 streetlights this year with energy efficient LED lights, and the switch will save the town money.
The switchover will be gradual, as workers from Central Vermont Public Service Corp. will replace the old lights with the new ones, Springfield Town Manager Robert Forguites said this week.
Forguites said the switch, which is being subsidized with a grant from Efficiency Vermont, will save the town about $26,000 a year in streetlight fees the town pays CVPS.
The Springfield Select Board approved the switch, which was the brainchild of the town’s Energy Committee, which is studying ways of saving the town money on its various energy bills.
Under the plan, the town will pay Central Vermont Public Service $20,189 for the existing lights, which haven’t been completely depreciated. That money that will come from Efficiency Vermont.
“There is no expense to the town,” Forguites said.
The town currently pays a daily rate of 39 cents per streetlight, regardless of whether it is working or not, he said. The vast majority of the lights, 441 to be exact, cost the town 39 cents daily. The costs include leasing the lights, he said.
There is only one particularly large light that costs the town 77 cents a day, he said.
The town has been spending $101,445 a year on streetlights, Forguites said, and once all the lights are switched over, the cost will be $75,614, a savings of about $26,000.
CVPS will be doing the switchover, he said, and the company is starting with a small batch, with the switchover taking place as time allows, but concluding by the end of the year, he said.
Not included in the switch to LED lights are the decorative historic reproduction lights in downtown Springfield, he said, and some lights that are on much taller posts.
The town had installed some LED lights in front of the Fellows Gear Shaper building in downtown Springfield, and those lights are much brighter than the old, mercury vapor lights, said Selectman Michael Knoras.
Selectman Peter MacGillivray asked about light pollution from the new lights, noting that Springfield Hospital had to adhere to state regulations about light pollution during a parking lot project.
“They are very directional,” said John Pugh, co-chairman of the energy committee.
At the same time, the town will investigate whether it makes sense to turn off some of the lights, since the new lights will emit more or stronger light than the current lights. Knoras and Selectman David Yesman will work with Pugh on the possibility of eliminating unnecessary lights.
High priority should be given to high-traffic areas and intersections, said Chairman Kristi Morris. The town has been currently operating under 1983 streetlight guides on where streetlights should be placed.
Pugh said “a handful” of lights would be easy to turn off.
Street lights in Springfield, seen here, will be replaced with more efficient ones.
Photo: Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo
It would be nice if the fancy lights they put down Main Street actually worked. There are at least 4-5 plus the missing one on the south side of Main Street from the Elm Hill intersection to the restored bridge by the Community Center that don't work.
ReplyDelete