Photo By Howard Owens.
Lights along Park Road: The white light in the top of the frame is in the Town of Batavia and one of the new LED lights installed by National Grid. The two yellow streetlights in the background are in the City of Batavia.
Press release:
National Grid has converted 72 streetlights to LEDs in the Town of Batavia, which should reap the rewards of long-term cost and energy savings. The streetlight changeover represents the largest such LED streetlight conversion completed by National Grid in Western New York.
The streetlights were retrofitted as part of National Grid’s Outdoor Street Lighting Conversion Program, which enables communities to switch from high-pressure sodium lights to high-efficiency LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting. The conversion was completed in May.
The Outdoor Street Lighting Conversion Program is open to all of National Grid’s Upstate New York municipal and governmental streetlighting customers with roadway style fixtures and promotes the adoption of energy-efficient LED technology through the transition of company-owned streetlights.
“We converted the streetlights for long-term cost savings for our residents, which could total around $2,000 annually,” said Town of Batavia highway superintendent Tom Lichtenthal.
“Working with National Grid, there was a little bit of a learning curve in the beginning of this process. But in the end, everything went very smoothly and the installation procedures were completed quickly.”
In the Town of Batavia, the streetlights were converted at a cost of $9 per month over a 10- year period. An incentive that the town received from New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) was built into the streetlighting program that translates to energy savings over time.
LEDs have no filament, produce less heat, and should require less maintenance over time. They require no warmup period to reach full brightness and make it easier for motorists and pedestrians to recognize objects.
“Visually, LEDs produce a distinctly whiter, brighter light compared to the yellow hue cast by traditional high-pressure sodium lights,” said National Grid regional manager Ken Kujawa.
“When working with us, municipalities often consider this difference when specifying which lights to convert, particularly in situations where LED and high-pressure sodium streetlights may be on the same street or in close proximity.”
For LED conversion, NYSERDA offers grant incentives to local governments through its Clean Energy Communities program. More information is available at www.nyserda.ny.gov.
National Grid encourages customers considering LED streetlight conversion to seek additional information from knowledgeable lighting professionals in order to make fully informed decisions.
