Street lighting technology is evolving rapidly and is tracked by the U.S. DOE's Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium which offers a variety of resources, such as performance calculators and model specifications, to guide municipalities and others in their evaluation and choice of LED street lighting products, which importantly includes the choice of color temperature (3000 or fewer degrees Kelvin generally preferred for Dark Skies) and color rendition. See MN Dept. of Transportation LED specifications.
Use the International Dark-Sky AssociationBad Streetlightsguide to promote reduced/smarter outdoor lighting. See the GreenStep Dark Skies best practices for more.
6-minute video on research and a test of LED street lights with a focus group from three different vendors, run by Dakota Electric Association and the City of Apple Valley.
Have a maintenance practice/policy specifying replacement of incandescent signal indications with LED indications at time of lamp failure.
Have a purchasing practice/policy/utility franchise agreement that specifies Dark-Sky street lighting. Streetlights should provide at least 75 lumens/watt.
Document the purchase of LEDs for all new street lighting and traffic signals.
Who's doing it
Albert Lea - 3 star
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All traffic signals use LED lights and it is the City's policy to purchase only LED replacements.
Between 2006-2010 we received rebates from Xcel Energy to change over our traffic signal bulbs from incandescent to LED. We have realized over a 50% savings in energy costs and Xcel picked up most of the cost of the LED bulbs.
In 2010 we worked with McKinstry to replace 731 high pressure sodium street lights to induction and LED lights. This changeover was done at no cost to the city, with McKinstry picking up the initial costs and then being paid via our energy savings (over 50%). We also realized a cost savings due to the 10 year replacement warranty on all bulbs. Savings were used for switching over interior lighting.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Kwh savings for interior lighting = 202,000 kwh per year
Kwh savings for exterior lighting = 340,000 kwh per year
Approximate energy savings cost per year-$50k
Coon Rapids is currently going through a LED retrofit of our entire streetlight system as we reconstruct neighborhoods (included in the project). Connexus Energy & Xcel Energy have already completed conversion of all their facilities in the City.
Xcel Energy and Red River Valley Co-Op Power both replace street lights with LEDs when they need to be replaced in Dilworth. Dilworth’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy states that the city should install LEDs for all new and replacement street lighting. All of Dilworth’s traffic signal lights are LEDs and will be replaced with LEDs when needed.
The city's only traffic signal is LED and will only be replaced with LED Lighs. In the future Xcel is transitioning to all LED street lights and will only install new as LED.
All city owned street lights and traffic signals have been switched over to LEDs. We are currently working on getting the OtterTail Power Company owned street lights to LED.
The city's Energy Improvement Project (#894) with McKinstry included replacement of all traffic signals and street lights with LED lights. Xylon Avenue streetscape improvements included LED lighting for all fixtures with the capability of controlling output levels electronically. All traffic signals have been converted to LED lighting.
The first such LED project was the County Road 8 reconstruction project 2014/2015. Also, the City's Capital Improvement Plan includes LED lighting for future projects.
Street lighting is currently high pressure sodium but it is common practice to replace bad ballasts with LEDs. Xcel Energy doesn't meter it; instead, the City pays a per fixture fee. The City partnered with students from the U of M to conduct an energy audit of its streetlight system. The study recommended LED lights and the installation of solar panels on the streetlights to further reduce energy usage, energy costs and carbon emissions.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
272 LED street lights have been installed in the City, almost 11% of total street lighting.
In 2020 the City is replacing the small amount of City owned street lights with LED (most street lights are County owned). This is not in a written policy, but rather something the Assistant Public Works Director connected with Choice Electric about four years ago.
All traffic signals purchased since 2002 and all street lights purchased since the early 2010s have been LED. While there is no official policy the universal expectation is that that is going to continue.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
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For more information contact:
Alex Jackson, Energy Coordinator (City staff) | ajackson@DuluthMN.gov | 218-730-4433
All street lighting on Madison Avenue (Mankato's main commercial corridor) have been replaced with LED fixtures, after a pilot project to test LED lighting in several areas of the community.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Approximately $19,000/annually in energy costs saved.
All new street light fixtures installed must meet Marshall Municipal Utilities requirements for Dark-sky compliance, efficiency, and light levels.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Nearly all of Marshall's Street lights have been replaced with new Dark-sky compliant energy efficient light fixtures as part of Marshall Municipal Utilities electric conversion project.
The city of Rochester, Minnesota, is poised to initiate a significant LED streetlight installation project on city roadways. The proposed project is intended to replace up to 300 to 400 existing 175 watt mercury vapor streetlights with LED streetlight fixtures. The project is funded by an award of $180,000 from the US Department of Energys Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program combined with a 20% funding match from the municipal utility, Rochester Public Utility (RPU). RPU has budgeted a total of approximately $225,000 in funds for the purchase and installation of the new LED streetlights.
All street lights have been converted to LED EnergyStar compliant lights. New traffic signals are LED. The City doe snot require Dark-sky compliance but considers it when replacements are needed. The lights on the City's current contract are energy star rated.
All City owned streetlights have been converted to LED and are Dark Sky compliant, at least 75% of traffic signals and lights on traffic signal poles are LED.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
City streetlights and traffic signals are LEDs and Dark Sky compliant.
In early 2019, the City of Sherburn replaced the street lights located in our downtown to LED lights. The number of lights that were replaced were ten poles. In addition, all other streets are being replaced with LED as they burn out.
The street lights are transitioning over to LED lights. Last year, in Stillwater, over 600 lights were switched to LED, and currently around 50% of its streetlights are LED lights. In addition, the city only owns one traffic light and that has been switched over to LED.
According to David Opsahl, Energy Services, Willmar Municipal Utilities. It is the practice of the WMUC that all new street lighting is to be dark sky compliant and all traffic signals are to be Energy Star rated.
Bemidji has replaced all street lighting and traffic signals with more efficient LED bulbs. The city will continue to only use LED bulbs in these fixtures due to the added performance and energy efficiency.
Our maintenance practice has been to replace all of our street lights in the city with LED's when they burn out or when we have some spare time. We actually have an electrician on staff and a bucket truck so we have been able to do pretty much the entire city street lights. We only purchase LED's lights moving forward for the city.
The City of Fergus Falls has completed a transformation of all of our traffic signals lights to LED lighting and are considering a similar conversion with our street lighting. The street lights around Lake Alice are being considered for LED conversion and the new street lights that will be installed this fall at the former Regional Treatment Center will be LED lights.
All future street lights required to be LED as per comprehensive plan:
"Replacing municipally-owned outdoor lighting, converting a minimum 10% of fixtures each year. Ensure all new City outdoor lighting is LED going forward."
We are purchasing LED for all future street lighting. In addition, we are replacing approx 50 per year in the current system until done. Estimated savings are approximately 2/3 energy by using LED's over 150 w hps.
Constructed new traffic signals at intersection of LaPrairie Ave and Highway 169. The signals are powered with LED lights and are electronically operated to reduce idling time. Turn signals have a yellow arrow.
12/15/2015
Installed 16 new street lights on a corridor street that is 1 mile long. The new lights are LED and “Dark Sky” compliant.
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Partners: City of Grand Rapids, City of LaPrairie, Itasca County, Itasca Community College, IIIRB
The City owns the ornamental street light systems along Silver Lake Road and Old Highway 8. For some of the lights that are unmetered, the City has a maintenance contract with Xcel Energy to service the electrical portion of the lighting system. However, for the lights that are metered the City is responsible for re-lamping, inspection, and maintenance.
The City owns and maintains two street light systems - 95 street lights on Silver Lake Road North and 58 street lights on 5th Avenue NW from 1st Street NW to Old Highway 8. They were originally installed on Silver Lake Road in two phases – 2001 and 2004. The street lights on 5th Avenue NW were installed in 1999. These lights were completely re-lamped in 2008.
The City also owns 30 street lights on Norwest Parkway (NWQ) installed in 2007 and 44 street lights north of I694 along Old Highway 8 installed in 2008, and several lights by Pulte in 2015. The 2007 street lights were due for their first re-lamping in 2015.
All of these lights contain high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps that have an average operating life of 24,000 service hours. On average, 50 percent of the street lights will be burned out or cycling after 6.5 years of operation. During the 2015 Street Rehabilitation project 35 existing luminaires on 10th Street were retrofitted with LED fixtures and 11 new LED lights were installed. To provide for a longer service life, all of the decorative luminaires in the City will eventually be replaced with LED fixtures.
2016 Re-lamp 49 Old Highway 8 Lights north of 5th Avenue
2016 Re-lamp 67 Silver Lake Road Lights south of 694
2018 Re-lamp 58 5th Avenue NW Lights south of Old 8 to 1st Street
2020 Re-lamp 102 Lights North of 694 in the Exchange
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The ornamental lights are a large investment, and need to be maintained and kept in good working order. LED lights are efficient and will significantly outlast the HPS lamps. LED lights installed on metered systems will have their energy use compared to previous years utility data.
This is an on-going process. As of 11/4/22, there is only a single traffic light in New Prague that isn't LED. Once it is set for replacement, it will be converted.
Since 2012, New Ulm Public Utilities began replacing existing high-pressure sodium (HPS) light fixtures/bulbs with LED fixtures/bulbs. Additionally, an internal decision was made by electric departments supervisors to continue installing LED fixtures in newly developed areas of the community. The deciding factor to always install LED fixtures was the energy savings and the decrease in lineworker’s time spent changing HPS bulbs yearly. While this decision was not given to the overseeing Public Utility Commission for approval, it is visibly evident when driving throughout these new developments within the community and within internal department documentation.
It is City practice to replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs upon replacement. Currently, about 65% of street lights owned by the City are LEDs, and 50% of the traffic signals owned by the City are LEDs (the City owns the signals at two intersections in the City). When the current incandescent bulbs burn out, they are replaced by LEDs.
While Xcel Energy is in charge of the street lighting and has switched to LED, dark sky compliance street lights, the city is in charge of traffic signals. LED bulbs ar being used for all traffic signals the city is in charge of.
The City uses downward directed, sodium vapor street lighting. Section 24.268 of the municipal code states that lighting in parking lots must be downward facing. The purpose of this section includes preventing “unnecessary skyglow.”
Xcel Energy owns the street lights and traffic signals in the City of Wyoming. They have purchased LEDs and replaced the street lights and traffic signals with them. It is anticipated they will continue to do so in the future.