StreetLightNews

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.”

All important roads which lead to Games venue, airport, hotels, stations, etc. are to be well lit as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is spending around 40 million USD on improving the street lights prior to the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

A total of 125 roads are to be equipped with new street lights, thus covering hundreds of kilometres, works committee chairman Mahender Nagpal explains in an article brought in The Times of India.

The two first phases of the project are to be completed before the Games begin, and the last phase is taken up once the Games are over.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is also carrying out repair and maintenance work on over six thousand high-mast lights in Delhi.

City officials hope to secure significant long-term savings and public safety with the deployment of new energy-efficient street lights. First step is the installation of 50 LED (light-emitting diode) street lights in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighbourhood. Compared to traditional high-pressure sodium light bulbs, LED street lights are about 50 percent more energy-efficient, meaning that they last about two to three times longer and produce a whiter, brighter light which benefits the public safety.

Other than implementing LED lights, the city of San Francisco also demonstrated new smart street light control technologies at a local media event. Smart control technologies can contribute another 20 percent of energy efficiency improvement in addition to the LED lights, the article states.

The new technology can help reduce maintenance costs by allowing the operators to monitor individual street light perfomance, adjust the light intensity level and receive immediate information when lights have failed or are about to fail.

The street lights of San Francisco are owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Company and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, respectively. Both organisations are now working together on testing and evaluating different smart control technologies to better the energy efficiency in San Francisco.

Companies also offering smart control technologies are Power-One, Amplex and Streetlight Intelligence to mention a few.

In an effort to generate savings on the city budget, Arlington plans to turn off every other street light in the southeast area of the city for two months. Pedestrians and motorists will be able to recognise the street lights that are intentionally turned off by the silver reflective tape on the poles. If not too many residents will complain about the new solution, the city will most likely consider similar steps on other major roads in the city.

The distance between working poles will double from 185 feet to 370 feet, and the city is anticipating savings of $4.50 per pole per month.

The city does not plan to turn off residential street lights, the article reports.

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.

The Canadian company Hybridyne Power Systems and Japanese founded Panasonic have created a street light solution that is powered by both the sun and the wind. The solution features a solar panel on top of the street light pole, and a vertical-axis wind turbine positioned between the lamp’s two poles.

Since the solution is self-powered, it can be installed anywhere without expensive trenching and wiring. The low-cost solution also eliminates the problem with electricity blackouts, and it features an optional wireless video security webcam. Read more about the Kazekamome system here.

In Donnegal County, Ireland, a private company has been contracted to install a ‘hydro light‘ on the footbridge over the River Finn in Ballybofey. The new installation will feature environmental-friendly LED lights powered from batteries that are charged by a 110 watt turbine placed under the bridge. In case of the water levels in the river drop too low for the turbine to be operated, the lights will have a solar panel back up system.

The technology could also be used in a number of places other than rivers. The article reports that the technology could be used in storm sewers or in roof drainage systems on buildings. As a matter of fact, the city council is currently running a number of pilots, thus experimenting with new technologies as part of their programme for renewable and low energy lighting.

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.