Streetlights are an enormous part of any city's energy consumption
and cities that wish to cut down on their emissions and their energy
bills are getting in line to convert their older street lamps to LED
technology. According to Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and
Department of Energy (DOE) data, street lighting costs
are one of the biggest components of a city’s utility bill, accounting
for 10 percent to 38 percent of the total. With nearly 35 million
street lights in the United States, about 1 percent of all electricity
is used by street lighting systems.
PG&E workers installing an LED streetlight. Photo: PG&E
Like other cities in the Bay Area experimenting with LED streetlights, including San Francisco and Oakland, San Jose has embraced the nascent technology as part of a sustainability platform called Green Vision, which sets ambitious targets for reducing energy consumption and emissions, including an expected 50 percent or more energy and cost savings from the street lamp conversions.
"Our goal has always been to move to a more energy efficient light," said Laura Stuchinksy, Transportation Sustainability Officer at the San Jose Department of Transportation.
Read the complete article at Streetsblog San Francisco, California Cities Lead Nation in Reducing Emissions from Streetlights
