 |
| Author |
Message |
SayWatt
|
|
Post subject: Mill Valley tests energy-saving LED streetlights
 Posted: Jul 29, 2008 - 05:22 PM CST
|
|
Site Admin
Joined: Apr 18, 2005
Posts: 90
  
Status: Offline
|
|
Mill Valley has become the first city in Marin to test the new wave in streetlights.
The city is installing four different types of LED or light-emitting diode fixtures at a few sites to study claims of energy savings and reduced maintenance costs.
"I'm interested in whether this technology could be the future of street lighting, because street lights are our single biggest energy drain," said Wayne Bush, the city's public works director.
Bush said the lights placed above 26 Buena Vista Ave., 21 Oakdale Ave., Camino Alto at Miller Avenue and Blithedale Avenue at Alta Vista Avenue will be examined over several months for energy reduction and how the different type of light - stark white with little dispersion - looks and lasts. He said the trial would cost about $2,200.
"At some point, LED technology should take over from other street lighting, such as high-pressure sodium vapor, mercury vapor and incandescent," Bush said. LEDs "don't generate nearly as much wasteful heat, and they last far longer than other lamps."
Mill Valley is one of only a handful of Northern California cities testing the new lighting systems, following Oakland, Sacramento and Folsom. The state Department of Transportation has also tested fixtures on the Carquinez Bridge, and it plans to do the same on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and other spans.
Bob Haus, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said recent tests show a 60 percent energy savings.
"It's nothing to sneeze at," he said.
Andrew Poster of the Novato transportation engineering firm Republic ITS, which is installing the lights, said the technology has been used in traffic signals for about 15 years and is starting to show up on car brake lights.
"It's been known in the industry that LEDs are the next frontier for streetlights," he said.
Poster said fixtures vary widely in look and shape, but commonly have little flashlight pixels grouped together in a rectangular shape. Costs also vary, ranging from $900 to $1,400 for LED lamps and fixtures compared with a range of $300 to $800 for a variety of other streetlights.
Poster said the trial will test some company claims that LED lights last more than 50,000 hours over 10 years, compared with an approximate 25,000-hour lifespan over three to four years for high-pressure sodium lights.
"We're hoping to prove or learn whether or not an LED streetlight is a viable option," he said.
"It's still a new technology," said Dana Armanino of the county's energy management team.
Bush said of the trial run, "This is really to put them in front of the community and ourselves to see how they work."
THE 'GREENING' OF MILL VALLEY
Recent moves by the city include:
-Hiring a sustainability coordinator, the first such post funded by a Marin city.
- Requiring all city employees to attend a "sustainability briefing."
- Banning bottled water in city offices.
- Drafting a new green building ordinance.
- Testing energy efficiency of LED streetlights.
http://www.marinij.com/ci_10024620 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Register
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Sub-Forum
