The City of Asheville has made the first move in first large-scale LED street lights deployment in North Carolina. The initiation was undertaken to minimize carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.
Cree, a Durham-based manufacturer, supplied 3,643 LEDway street lights that are being installed in the streets of Asheville, with estimated annual savings amounting to $260,000.
Following the achievement of the project’s initial phase in June 2011, Kenilworth neighborhoods and Asheville’s River District experienced effective replacements of 730 street lights with 67 W to 195 W LEDway luminaires, projected to conserve about $45,000 in energy costs, annually. Over 50% of energy conservation and reduction in maintenance costs is being expected throughout the regions of Asheville, following the additional installation of 2,913 LEDway street lights, across the city.
The city-wide street light upgrade project of Asheville meets the standards of 2008 lighting ordinance reinforced by the City Council that was formulated with an intent to minimize light pollution and glare. In order to financially support the efficiency deployments such as the first phase of the street light replacement, the Asheville City Council agreed upon utilizing the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), in 2009. The funding thus facilitates the energy conservation cycle to benefit the green and efficiency initiatives of Asheville.
Progress Energy offers N.C. Utilities Commission-approved rate tables to the customers of the Asheville City for purchasing or hiring LED lighting fixtures.
Source: http://www.creeledlighting.com/