Lighting the way to a more sustainable future - City-wide LED Streetlight Retrofit Program
Municipalinfonet.com
Sept. 29, 2021
Providing a safer, more sustainable and brighter environment for citizens. As part of the City of Vaughan’s commitment to protecting the environment and fostering a green community, approximately 24,000 new lights have been installed through the city-wide LED Streetlight Retrofit Program. -- and more are on the way!
The program began in October 2019 and was first tested by installing LED lights on Pleasant Ridge Avenue between Langstaff Road and Apple Blossom Drive. The replacement program soon began to roll out on City-owned streetlights. Phase two of the program has now begun and will see an estimated 900 LED lights and 100 streetlight poles installed across the city to meet current lighting standards and accommodate new LED technology.
Operating Vaughan’s streetlight network represents approximately 20 per cent of the City’s overall energy consumption. LED lights use approximately 50 per cent less energy compared to the previous bulbs and have a longer lifespan -- about four times longer. This translates into ongoing savings in operating and maintenance costs, and, as a result of the reduction in energy consumption, the City will save approximately $1 million annually. The new LED lights are more reliable, will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve roadway safety for pedestrians and drivers as they radiate a brighter white light. These lights also generally produce less light pollution than the old HPS lights as they are more focused towards roads and sidewalks. Lights located within park areas, pathways, sports fields, City-owned parking facilities, unassumed subdivisions and locations where additional streetlight poles are required will be revisited in subsequent phases of the program.
The city-wide LED Streetlight Retrofit Program also includes smart technology upgrades, such as installing a web-enabled lighting control system that will allow remote monitoring, operation and maintenance of all LED lights. This provides accurate energy metering per streetlight, integrated GPS for real-time streetlight performance reporting and the ability to turn on, dim or turn off streetlights remotely.
In addition, this program received a 2021 Smart 50 Award -- an award created in partnership with Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation and US Ignite to honour the 50 most innovative and transformative municipal-scale Smart Cities projects globally. This award reaffirms Vaughan’s commitment to reducing energy consumption and taking a Smart City approach to deliver efficient, reliable and innovative city-building.
By changing from high-pressure sodium (HPS) to light-emitting diode (LED) technology, the City is taking steps towards reducing energy use, saving operational costs and advancing its Environmental Stewardship and Operational Performance priorities, as outlined in the 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan. Phase two of the program is currently underway and will see the installation of new streetlight poles across the city to meet current lighting standards and accommodate LED technology.
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