Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Ypsilanti to Switch to LED Street Lighting

Ypsilanti will be participating in two programs to replace Mercury Vapor lamps with LED street lighting on several streets in select areas. These programs will save the city approximately $23,000 annually. The first of the two will replace the city’s series circuit of 36 mercury vapor lights. The current energy cost is $18,558, but after switching to LED will drop to $11,212. The estimated return on investment will be roughly 1.77 years. The second program will convert 224 of the city’s Mercury Vapor lights to LED street lighting. The current cost for those lights is $49,722 and would decrease to $33,172 after the switch. The estimated ROI for the second program is approximately 3.18 years. With $19,090 in rebates, the total cost for the city is down to $61,184.

Not only will Ypsilanti save on utility costs, but maintenance costs as well because LED street lighting holds up longer than traditional mercury vapor lights. Under the recommended proposal, residents could be taxed $50 or more per year until 2022. A start date has yet to be announced because the project has to be approved by the majority of property owners in a public hearing.

The city has more than 1,750 light fixtures, making more LED street lighting upgrades possible for the future.

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