Lighting and Control

Waukesha, Racine, Madison to test energy efficient streetlights
Feb 19, 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Laurel Walker
Feb. 19, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- WAUKESHA -- Anyone who's debated switching LED Christmas lights for the old strings, or who has bought a new refrigerator with bright white LED lights instead of the old soft-light appliance bulbs, will have a sense of what Waukesha is up to.
The city has $657,000 in federal stimulus money from the Department of Energy to spend on new streetlights that will trim its energy bill. But first, residents are invited to help with an experiment.
City crews have begun to install the first of 21 energy efficient streetlights of different types and manufacturers in the median of Moreland Blvd. from about Summit Ave. to Delafield St.
In this pilot program over the next three to six months, city workers will keep tabs on how easily the light poles are retrofitted with the new lights, how much energy is saved, how the light is distributed -- and what the public thinks of them.
Too bright? Too white? Do they spread enough light? People can comment on what they think by calling a city project engineer at (262) 524-3587 or e-mailing kjelacic@ci.waukesha.wi.us.
Fred Abadi, director of public works, said one of the first lights installed -- induction technology as opposed to LED -- already has been panned.
"The one installed last week was so terrible," he said. "We've already got complaints from people. It was so dark. There's not enough lighting."
More LED lights were installed Thursday afternoon. For the test, an energy efficient light will be installed in place of every other existing high pressure sodium light along a two-block stretch.
Eventually, the city will pick a preference and replace about 1,000 of its 1,400 streetlights -- the ones on metal poles that the city owns, Abadi said. Lights on wooden utility poles are owned by We Energies (NYSE:WEC) , though the city pays for the electricity they use.
Goal: Save $250,000
The city spends just more than $500,000 a year on electricity for street lights, project engineer Katie Jelacic said. It expects to save about half of that -- and help reduce carbon emissions in the process -- with the new lights.
The city doesn't have enough money to replace all of its lights, Abadi said. Jelacic added that another 700 ornamental lights won't be tampered with because of their decorative design and the inability to match fixtures.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, about $37.2 million was awarded to certain Wisconsin cities, counties and the state for energy efficiency projects in recent months.
Waukesha County, for example, got $2.2 million, much of what will be used for a new maintenance building at Retzer Nature Center that will use geothermal technology, energy-efficient lights in parking lots and buildings and possible solar energy for the jail, said Dale Shaver, parks and land use director.
Racine, Madison projects
Like Waukesha, a few other cities plan to replace streetlights with more energy efficient fixtures.
Racine is using its $795,000 federal grant to replace 1,000 of its 3,600 sodium lights, all that it can afford, said Richard Jones, commissioner of public works
So far -- with about 600 lights replaced with LEDs -- so good, he said.
"The majority of people like the fact that it's white light," compared to the amber glow thrown off and outward by the high pressure sodium street lights, Jones said. More of the LED light shines down on the street, making it "night-sky friendly," he said.
Jones said Racine expects a 40% reduction in its electrical use with the change to LED lights, which will translate into significant budget savings. While the old lights have a three- to five-year lifespan, he said he expects the LEDs to last up to 20 years.
Madison is testing about a dozen LED lights from two manufacturers on a section of E. Washington Ave., where reconstruction was finished last fall. While the cost was paid from the project budget, Madison has earmarked about $100,000 of its $2.38 million federal energy block grant for replacing street lights next year, said Dan Dettmann, traffic operations engineer.
By then, he said, technology might improve and costs on the LED lights could be lower.
Abadi, Waukesha's public works director, said different manufacturers give different estimates of lifespan and savings on the LED lights.
"The problem with LED technology is there is no history on it," he said.
Waukesha is among those communities making that history by relighting its byways.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0130-42190678