In our previous post, we spoke about the importance of city lighting. Lighting helps improve safety, reduces crime and also uplifts the overall look of the city. Lighting is an important aspect of city planning. Just like roads and other amenities, lighting is an important mandate for all city councils. Read our post about the importance of city lighting »Over the last five years, most city councils across Australia have actively initiated the process of replacing old streetlights to LEDs. The advantages of opting for LED Street lights are manifold.
Cost and Energy Savings
There are more than 2.3 million street lighting lamps in service in Australia, this contributes to nearly 1.5 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions each year and costing nearly $400m in energy and maintenance costs. It is stated that a change to widely accepted energy efficient technologies could save councils nearly 80% in energy costs. In addition to adopting renewable energy sources for public amenities, replacing traditional lighting with LED lighting is one of the first proven steps to reduce carbon footprint."Old lights use four and half times the electricity. The 80W mercury vapour streetlights cost 437% more in electricity compared to LEDs."
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Return on Investment
While the implementation in LED light replacement appears to be a high investment. The capital cost of the new lights, installation costs, project management and other costs (such as a residual value of old lights), the initiative will pay themselves back in as little as 5 years."Long and predictable lifetime: The projected lifetime of LED street lights is usually 10 to 15 years, two to four times the life of currently prevalent High Pressure Sodium Lamps. (LEDs themselves do not generally fail or "burn out" in a way comparable to other technologies, and barring catastrophic failure of other mechanical or electronic components of the LED fixture, lifetimes are typically set by a decrease in luminous output of 30%."
Leading by Example
Governments at the central and local level clearly understand the positive impact of sustainability and environment-friendly solutions in cities. As cities are gearing up for a sustainable city management and development, many city councils are setting great examples.Sydney has set a great example and is a world leader in the movement to switch over to LED lighting in public spaces. Public lighting costs make up one-third of Sydney's annual electric bill and nearly 70% of its greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2012, Sydney has saved nearly $370,000 and enjoyed a 34% reduction in energy usage.
In Brisbane, more than 20,000 LEDs have been switched over from incandescent bulbs. This includes 8,500 LED lights that have been incorporated into City Hall alone.
Melbourne is not only installing LED lighting on the street through its Public Lighting Strategy, it is also offering rebates to apartment owners who upgrade to LED lighting through the Smart Block programme.
The benefits of installing LED lights and LED downlights are real and the impact immediately noticeable. Other cities across Australia, both large and small, are taking note of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne's experiences and starting to implement their own LED lighting plans, hoping to enjoy similar cost savings, emission reductions and lowering the carbon footprint.
