Date Announced: 07 Jun 2011 The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG), supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, empowers local communities to make strategic investments to meet the nation’s long-term goals for energy independence and leadership on climate change.As part of the EECBG, the Town of Danville was awarded funds to convert a portion of their traditional high-pressure sodium streetlights to light-emitting diode technology to lower energy usage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Danville contracted Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the local utility provider, to convert 262 high-pressure sodium streetlights, or about 10% of the town’s total inventory of streetlights, to LED. With its “LED Street Light Turnkey Replacement Service” PG&E provides local governments with a one-stop solution for project design, management, and construction.“It’s important for PG&E to deliver a consistently high level of quality products and services to customers via our LED street lighting initiatives to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs,” said John Sofranac, manager of street and outdoor lighting programs for PG&E.After an initial evaluation of streetlights from various manufacturers, LEDway streetlights were installed along a five-mile section of the heavily traveled arterial roadway corridor known as Sycamore Valley Road and Camino Tassajara in the Town of Danville. “In order to meet these objectives, PG&E selected BetaLED LEDway streetlights for their reliability, high-performance standards, and environmental benefits,” said Sofranac.It is estimated that LEDway streetlights will consume 44 - 53% less energy per year compared to the conventional HPS system they replaced while delivering improved performance and quality of light. In addition, LEDway streetlights are expected to exceed 50,000 hours of operation, significantly reducing maintenance costs.The town also received a rebate (per streetlight) through PG&E’s LED Streetlight program. In addition, PG&E customers who installed or replaced existing street light fixtures to LED after May 1, 2009 are eligible to switch to a lower billing rate under the LS-2 rate schedule. Customers who installed LED streetlights before May 2009 were also eligible for the rebates.Benefits• Between 44 to 53% savings in energy costs compared to HPS fixtures LEDway streetlights replaced.• More than 50K hours of maintenance-free operation with lumen depreciation of less than 2% per year compared to HPS systems with an average lumen depreciation rate of approximately 8% per year.• Significant environmental advantages include 38% reduction in CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, no mercury or other heavy metals, 99% recyclable, and are International Dark Sky Association (IDA) approved.• Patent-pending NanoOptic™ refractors within each BetaLED luminaire distribute light precisely for improved target illumination performance with significant reductions in light pollution, compared to the pre-existing HPS solution.• The Town of Danville was awarded funds through the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) to convert traditional streetlight systems to sustainable LED technology in addition to rebates from PG&E.
Contact
Gianna M.O’Keefe Marketing Manager Ruud Lighting, Inc. 800-236-6800
E-mail:[email protected]
Web Site:www.LEDway.com
