Date: 29/01/2012

A city in US goes for large-scale LED street lamp deployment

The City of Asheville in the North Carolina state of U.S. has initiated first large-scale deployment of LED street lights. There are 3,643 street lights from Durham-based manufacturer Cree, Inc. being installed, with projected savings of $260,000 annually.

In the initial phase of the project, completed in June 2011, 730 street lights in Asheville's River District and Kenilworth neighborhoods were replaced with 67-watt to 195-watt luminaires, estimated to save the City $45,000 in annual energy costs. An additional 2,913 LEDway street lights are currently being installed, and the City anticipates saving 50 percent of current energy use and maintenance costs due to the LED upgrade, according the release from Cree.

"Upgrading to LED street lights allows us to decrease energy consumption, increase energy efficiency and contribute to the sustainability of our community," said Maggie Ullman, energy coordinator for the Asheville Office of Sustainability. "This exciting initiative helps affirm Asheville's role as a leader in carbon footprint reduction."

"As more municipalities commit to replacing outdated, inefficient lighting with the support of their local utilities, LED adoption and consumer awareness continue to increase," said Christopher Ruud, president of Ruud Lighting, a Cree Company. "We applaud the City of Asheville and Progress Energy for working together for the benefit of its citizens demonstrating the growing trend of cities and municipalities working together to join the LED lighting revolution."