StreetLightNews

Gloucestershire County has set a fine example by the ‘invest to save’ scheme, where the county’s street lights are dimmed or switched off for part of the night. The scheme is held up as an example of how UK councils can reduce their carbon footprint.

The county estimates it will obtain annual savings of about £210,000 and cut CO2 emissions by 28 percent by dimming and switching off its street lights. Many of the high wattage street lights are dimmed between midnight and 5:30 a.m., and in the rural areas and market towns some of the street lights are turned off during the same period.

Gloucestershire County Council is already generating savings, and when the project of converting the rest of the county’s street lights is completed, it will reduce carbon emissions by 400 tonnes - the equivalent of boiling 26 million kettles.

The council of Powys, Wales wanted to save money and reduce CO2 emissions - therefore, they decided to switch off two thirds of its street lights. However, this move has led to a number of unfortunate incidents involving residents injuring themselves in the dark streets throughout Powys.

Some elderly residents said they had fallen and injured themselves in the dark and hundreds of others complained that they feel like prisoners in their own homes. One resident suffered a black eye, facial bruising and injured her knee when she fell outside her home, after six street lights were turned off in the residential area.

Some areas are left open to vandalism and theft, after three cars were stolen on the actual night of the switch-off in the autumn of 2008.

Regarding traffic safety, the conditions have also worsened. One of the councillors explains that a light was turned off above a pedestrian crossing where children were waiting to cross but drivers couldn’t see them. “I stopped my car so that I could signal and warn other approaching motorists,” John Brautigam comments.

The news are alarming, and one wonders if the council of Powys has been considering dimming solutions as an alternative to switching off two thirds of the street lights. Dimming can generate savings of about 25 percent, which is already documented previously on this blog.

The Danish financial newspaper Borsen writes that the Danish energy optimization specialist Amplex has developed a street light system that can generate energy savings of up to 30 %.

With large cities in mind, such savings can lead to interesting results on both the financial and green accounts. Amplex has already carried out a great deal of projects in Scandinavia, the Middle East and in Asia. At the moment, the company is negotiating to supply an energy saving system to Beijing, a city of 18 million inhabitants.

Amplex has already carried out a pilot project of its street light control and management system on an urban freeway to Beijing, and has achieved energy savings of about 30 %. According to the company, the savings could be even bigger, if the solution is rolled out in the rest of the city.

The street light system works by automatically varying the lighting intensity to suit actual needs in residential and industrial areas as conditions change from sunrise to sunset.

Amplex’ International Project Manager, Jacob Richard Nielsen, explains to Borsen: “Our system can be installed in the course of six to nine months in a metropolis, and even within that time the savings are normally sizeable enough to pay for the system.”

Throughout the UK, recently there has been a great deal of examples of city councils deciding to turn street lights off in order to cut bills and reduce carbon emissions. However, this move is often criticised by many residents as the safety of people and their property is reduced.

In the light of these moves, it is liberating to read about cities that are proactive in terms of generating energy savings by applying the technology at hand offered by a number of companies  - some of them previously listed on this site.

In Argus, South Wales, three villages have been chosen to pilot a street lighting scheme, which is remotely controlled by the local authority from County Hall in Cwmbran. The scheme uses mobile phone technology and allows County Hall to turn the lights on and off as well as the lights can be dimmed.

Roger Hoggins, the council’s head of operations, is excited about the pilot: “A street light outside a pub could be programmed to stay on until midnight, or dimmed on a residential estate during the night. It gives us a level of flexibility,” he explains. The pilot is expected to generate savings of about $ 80,000 USD on a yearly basis.

In North East Wales, the lights fitted in two Flintshire roads provide a white light and are designed to minimise upward light pollution. The lights are more expensive than the ones they have replaced but are said to have a relatively quick payback due to the energy savings. Flintshire council wants to hear people’s thoughts on the new lights.

The council’s executive member for environment, Tony Sharps, argues that this new system is far better than switching off street lights thus jeopardising people’s safety. Other trial sites are planned this year.

In Angus, Scotland, the dimming of street lights is to be trialled in order to cut the council’s carbon footprint and its electricity bills. The dimming of street lights will be trialled for a one-year period. Officials report that the dimming of street lights has the potential to cut the council’s electricity bills by 25 %.

It is unclear which company will be running the trial, but it can be confirmed that savings of more than 25 % are achievable. At the Light + Building exhibition in Frankfurt 2008, the Danish utility company Amplex demonstrated several examples of savings generated from street light dimming ranging from 26 % in Istanbul, Turkey to 35 % in Salatiga, Indonesia just to name a few projects. Similar savings have also been achieved in China, Kuwait, UAE, Malta, Denmark and Malaysia.

What began as a campaign by WWF to get the residents of Sydney to turn off their lights, has grown into one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. At 8:30 PM on March 28 2009, people around the world will turn off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour.

In 2007, 2.2 million people took part in the world’s first Earth Hour. In the following year, 50 million people worldwide switched off their lights. Earth Hour 2009 aims to reach more than one billion people around the world, whom by switching off their lights are sending a powerful global message about caring enough about climate changes to take action.

People, communities, and governments are urged to take part in the initiative. By now, more than 375 cities are committed to Earth Hour 2009. This number grows every day as people realize how a simple act, can have a profound impact on affecting change.

It is not only the lights in people’s homes, which will be turned off. Governments and communities take action as well by fading famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Sydney Opera House into darkness. Furthermore, streetlights will be dimmed as much as safety allows.

Director General of WWF International Jim Leape explains the importance of support for Earth Hour: “When leaders gather in Copenhagen in December 2009 to negotiate a new deal on climate they must feel that the eyes of the world are upon them. Earth Hour provides an opportunity for the public to send a powerful signal that they are watching and expect action.”

Join the world and take a stand against climate changes - turn off the lights on March 28 2009 between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM and support Earth Hour 2009.

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy initiated by the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO to help the people of the world rediscover their place in the universe through the day- and night-time sky.

The International Dark Sky-Association (IDA) is promoting the global effort with various educating events and publications throughout 2009.  Check out the cool light pollution animations available from IDA’s webpage to help spreading the message that light pollution can be avoided. The animations can be downloaded for free, so you can help raising awareness of the need to reduce light pollution and to save energy.

The New York Times reports that a number of cities have turned off or are planning to turn off a number of their street lights in order to save on the electricity bill because of high energy prices and tight budgets. It is alarming news when considering the safety of the respective citizens.

Further, the NY Times writes that the city of Santa Rosa, California has come up with the idea of adopting a light. The adopt-a-light programme gives the local citizens the opportunity to contribute to the Public Works Department. For $150, you can turn a darkened street light back on.

However, the article does not suggest street light dimming although many municipalities and cities around the world has benefitted from dimming, reporting savings of up to 25-40 %. Further, if the street light solution features fault detection, the operator will be much better equipped in terms of coordinating maintenance, thus saving time and money. All in all, dimming seems a brilliant alternative to darkening the streets.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that the city council of Fitchburg, Massachusetts plans to eliminate many street lights in an effort to save money. The suggestions so far propose that either one in four street lights be turned off, or the street lights should be turned on at major intersections, and shut off at half of the remaining fixtures. No suggestion related to dimming was allegedly discussed during the meetings.

The benefits of dimming are clear and well-documented. Companies offering solutions in street light management can generate energy savings of 25-40 percent through dimming and more exact burn hours. Such a solution can typically be installed in every pole or simply in the control cabinets, the latter being the most cost-friendly solution. Therefore, dimming would be a great alternative to the suggested solutions in Fitchburg, which in practice would mean that all lights can be left turned on, thus maximizing a high level of safety for the citizens while saving energy and money at the same time.

In a time where a sustainable environment is on top of the agenda, it is crucial that we all have a common understanding of how technology can contribute to a better environment. With street lighting in mind, it is therefore troubling to find that there is still confusion about the benefits of dimming.

In an article brought in The Press on 16 October 2008, the author, a York-resident, expresses his sincere doubts about how dimming can save energy, thus money. He argues that if he turns his dimmer on at home, he will still be charged the same amount as without a dimmer. Several comments follow from different readers trying to explain the correlation between the consumption of kilowatt-hours and dimming, stating that the author is completely wrong.

However, there is some truth in his claim. Provided that he refers to a standard incandescent light bulb with a traditional home-installed dimmer, the savings in his house would be minimal. Such an installation simply cannot be compared to dimmed street lights as these typically use high pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs and a different dimming system. When lowering the voltage on a HPS bulb during off-peak traffic hours for example, the wattage will decrease by 25-40 percent. The point here is, that you cannot compare traditional incandescent light bulbs in your living room with high pressure sodium bulbs used in street lights in terms of dimming.