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Archive for the ‘LED Cities’ Category

City of Asheville: Successfully Driving the Adoption of Street Lights in North Carolina

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Being a leader can be exhilarating. Take Cree, for example. We love leading the LED Lighting Revolution. You could even say we find it electrifying. So when we hear US cities, like Asheville, are implementing LED lighting, it pumps us up!

The City of Asheville has initiated North Carolina’s first large-scale deployment of LED street lights. This large-scale deployment, made possible through a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allows Asheville to take the necessary steps to improve energy efficiency and reduce its overall carbon footprint.

Street Lights in Asheville, North Carolina

In the initial phase of the project, completed in June 2011, 730 street lights were replaced with 67-watt to 195-watt LEDway® luminaires. 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.

“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.”

Street Lights in Asheville, North Carolina

Here are just some of the benefits of the Asheville installation project:

  • By upgrading all HPS and mercury vapor street lights to LEDway® luminaires, the City anticipates a savings of approximately $260,000 per year from the combined energy and maintenance savings.
  • Phase one of the LEDway® luminaires installation reduces the City’s carbon footprint by an estimated one percent and saves approximately $45,000 in energy cost per year.

In addition to saving energy, this installation demonstrates how municipalities and local utilities can work together. “As more municipalities commit to replacing outdated, inefficient lighting with the support of their local utilities, LED adoption and consumer awareness continue to increase,” said Christopher Ruud, President of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.”

Is your city taking the necessary steps to install LED lighting? Tell us about it.

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Posted in BetaLED, LED Cities | 4 Comments »

Street festival planned to celebrate Raleigh’s Hillsborough Street revitalization, including LED street lights

Friday, September 24th, 2010

It’s not often that thousands of people get together just to celebrate a street. But that’s exactly what will be happening Saturday in Raleigh, NC, when the city hosts a street celebration festival for Hillsborough Street.

The “Live It Up” Street Opening Celebration is meant to unite neighbors, business owners, students and other Raleigh residents to salute the recently-renovated street. And while most eyes will probably be on the performers, beer garden and farmers market set up to celebrate, we lighting geeks will be looking up at the new LED street and pedestrian lights that have been installed.

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LED street lights shine down on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, NC, adjacent to North Carolina State University.

The city of Raleigh replaced the energy-wasting metal halide lights that used to line the street with energy-efficient LED lighting manufactured by BetaLED, a Wisconsin-based company that uses Cree LEDs in its lights. Here’s what got replaced:

  • 15 metal halide street lights consuming 370 Watts each were replaced with 15 183-Watt LED street lights.
  • 40 metal halide street lights consuming 289 Watts a piece were replaced with 40 79-Watt LED street lights.
  • 85 metal halide streetlights consuming 190 Watts each were replaced with 85 55-Watt LED pedestrian lights.

In addition to saving energy and maintenance costs, the new LED lights have also improved visibility for pedestrians and drivers, says Bob Henderson, technical lighting consultant for Progress Energy, the city’s energy provider.

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City officials had to jump through some hoops to get the LED street lights installed, including convincing the North Carolina Department of Transportation (which owns the road) that it was the right move. Raleigh’s Assistant City Manager Dan Howe talks about the process in this video:

Howe says the city is going to continue to evaluate LED street lighting.

“We’ve done a couple of little pilot projects and they were successful, but this is a major public corridor and it’s working,” Howe said. “So what we’re going to try to do from this point out is to test the viability of LED lighting in a variety of street light settings around the city: Residential street lights, commercial streets in industrial areas, commercial streets in downtown and some other retail areas.”

Howe said the city still has a bit to learn about things like proper spacing of lights, the best height for the poles and more, but that these test installations will help the city determine some best practices before tackling even bigger street lighting projects.

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The difference with the LED street lights on the right is obvious. The LED lights provide clean, white light compared to the orange high pressure sodium lights on the right.

To see more examples of LED lighting in Raleigh, take a look at this Raleigh LED City tour.

And for more information about Saturday’s Hillsborough Street celebration, which Cree is sponsoring, check out the schedule of events.

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Posted in For Fun, LED Cities, Places Rocking LED Lights | 1 Comment »

Bradenton Beach, Florida installs turtle-friendly LED street lights

Thursday, September 9th, 2010


I used to live on a barrier island off the coast of South Carolina. And each May, the locals worked hard to teach tourists the importance of leaving lights off during loggerhead sea turtle nesting season. The “Keep Lights Out for Loggerheads” campaign would get so embedded in my mind that, like a catchy song on the radio, I sometimes found myself mumbling “Lights Out for Loggerheads” under my breath.

What the islanders know that many tourists don’t realize is that artificial light can throw off loggerheads when they come ashore to deposit their eggs. Artificial light can also throw off loggerhead hatchlings because it can steer them away from the ocean.

So when I found out the City of Bradenton Beach, Florida was installing LED street lights approved by the Florida Wildlife Commission as turtle-friendly, my heart sang a little. Located on Anna Maria Island along the Gulf of Mexico, the City of Bradenton Beach recently replaced 100-Watt high pressure sodium street lights with decorative 17-Watt LED fixtures along Gulf Drive, the city’s main thoroughfare.

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The city’s new LED street lights by Beacon Products use amber LEDs, which are visible to us humans, but are nearly undetectable to sea turtles and other marine wildlife, according to Beacon. Combine that with special optics and a full-cutoff luminaire, and you have turtle-friendly and dark sky-friendly lighting.

It’s still important for coastal residents and tourists to be mindful of their light usage during sea turtle nesting season. But we’re excited that LED lighting innovations are making it easier.

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Posted in LED Cities | 2 Comments »

Oldest parking deck in Durham, NC, receives major facelift including LED lights

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

In 1964, the city of Durham, NC, began construction on its first parking garage. The Corcoran Parking Garage is still heavily used more than 45 years later, providing daytime parking for downtown workers and evening parking for theater-goers at the Durham Performing Arts Center and even baseball fans at the nearby Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Renovations on the aging garage began last year, and are being wrapped up this month. Among the new features are 200 LED lighting fixtures, which dramatically improve visibility in the newly-painted garage.

A look at Durham's oldest parking deck after it was built in the 1960s. Photo courtesy of Endangered Durham.

A look at Durham's oldest parking deck after it was built in the 1960s. Photo courtesy of Endangered Durham.

I walked through the deck after a recent Durham Bulls game to get footage of the new lights and I kept declaring how amazing it was. As a former Durham resident, I’ve actually been inside this deck when it was lit with the dingy metal halide lights, and the deck felt older and not as safe. The difference with the new LED lights was truly extraordinary. There were no shadows and the signage was easily readable.

City officials say the new LED fixtures use only one-fifth of the energy consumed by the metal halide fixtures they replaced. At the 0:52 mark in this video, you’ll really notice the dramatic difference in lighting if you look at the contrast of the orange high pressure sodium streetlight glowing in front of the garage.

As part of other renovations, the City of Durham is currently installing LED lighting in another downtown parking deck and has plans for yet another. The Bull City, as it’s affectionately called by locals, joined the LED City program last month, and plans to continue considering energy-efficient LED lighting as it renovates and constructs new buildings and structures.

For a look at some original photos of the Corcoran Parking Garage as it was being built in 1964, check out this blog post on Endangered Durham.

Posted in LED Cities, Places Rocking LED Lights, Videos | 1 Comment »

California city once known as a getaway for Hollywood stars turns focus to sustainability

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Most people who visit Indian Wells, California, are probably drawn in by the four world class resorts, the spas and the lush golf courses. The resort community in the southern California desert became a retreat for celebrities after Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz opened the Indian Wells Hotel in 1958. Since then, city officials have worked to make Indian Wells a premiere destination in the Coachella Valley.

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These days, city officials are keen on sustainability, and energy-use reduction has become a key goal for the city. I had the “tough” job of visiting Indian Wells last month for an LED City® Council meeting, and while I was there I had the city’s management analyst Susan Weisbart give me a tour of some of the city’s LED lighting installations.

Indian Wells was the first California city to become an LED City. The LED City program helps municipalities speed up the adoption of energy-saving LED lights by connecting them with information they need to make informed decisions about installing LED lights.

One of the first LED lighting installations in Indian Wells involved swapping out incandescent lights that lit the outside of city hall and other municipal buildings with 12 Watt Cree LR6™ recessed lights. It’s a change that city officials say saves nearly $7,000 a year in energy costs. That’s not counting the maintenance savings of not having to replace burned out bulbs, since the LED lights they installed are designed to last 50,000 hours – or 17 years if they’re on 8 hours a day!

The city also has plans to replace the 50 Watt halogen lights illuminating the signature palm trees lining city streets with 11 Watt LED lights. Get this: The city estimates it can save $10,095 in energy costs per year once the project is complete!

Watch my LED tour and interview with Susan to see what Indian Wells is doing to save energy and money:

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Posted in LED Cities, Places Rocking LED Lights, Videos | 1 Comment »

Dispatches from the front lines of an LED Lighting Rally

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

I marched (OK, technically, I walked) in a circle on a street corner in downtown Raleigh yesterday with a group of passionate LED supporters and chanted:

“Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, LEDs are here to stay!

One, Two, Three, Four, Kick Fluorescents out the door!”

That’s not all. We had signs. A lot of signs. Hand-painted signs. Signs that declared our love for energy-efficient LED lights.

Rally

You’re probably wondering if we lost our minds. But I can assure you, we had a plan. You see, at approximately 5:45 p.m., just as our toes started to go numb in the chilly temperatures, a group of 100+ people rounded the corner.

But this wasn’t just a random mob, they were folks who knew a lot about LEDs. The group was on an LED Lighting Walking Tour of downtown Raleigh as part of the Department of Energy Solid State Lighting Research and Design Conference (or DOE SSL R&D for short).

Seeing their shocked faces was all it took for us to spring to action. We hoisted our signs in the air and started our chant.

Within seconds, digital cameras, cell phone and video cameras were fixed on us as we continued to walk in our circle. I tried not to make eye contact with anyone because it’s hard to stay composed when you’re hollering a chant. But I couldn’t miss the smiles, the curious looks, the camera flashes—and even a smattering of applause.

So what the heck were we doing? We were showing industry professionals that we’re serious about the LED Lighting Revolution. We truly believe LED lighting is better than incandescent, fluorescent and other lighting technologies. We truly believe the energy savings that can be achieved by switching to LED lights is worthwhile.

And we wanted those conference goers — the very people who have the potential to help change the way we light the world – to know that we’re out there paving the way for LED lighting by raising awareness.

LEDs Rock! If you were at the conference and saw the rally, please let me know in the comments section. I would love to see your photos and video.

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Posted in For Fun, LED Cities, Revolution, Trade Shows | 10 Comments »

Boston tries LED streetlights, joins Cree LED City program

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

One of the oldest parks in the country is taking on some of the latest lighting technology. The City of Boston announced today that it is joining the Cree LED City ® program after recently installing LED streetlights along the “Mayor’s Walk” on Boston Common.

The demonstration project on Boston Common is the city’s way of trying out LED lighting as part of its overall efforts to “green” Boston.

The Common is one of the oldest parks in America, once serving as a British camp before the Revolutionary War. Back then, gas lighting had not even been invented. In fact, gas lighting didn’t spread to the United States until the early 1800s. It’s pretty cool to think that 200 years later, the park has turned into Boston’s testing ground for LED streetlights.

Boston Common in the fall. Photo by flickr user BostonPhotoSphere.

Boston Common in the fall. Photo by flickr user BostonPhotoSphere.

The LED City program is one way Cree helps cities give LED lighting a try, with the goal of speeding up adoption of this energy-efficient technology. Officials in cities that have never tried LED lighting often have a lot of questions about the technology.

At Cree, we help answer those questions and encourage cities to test LED lighting so they can see the results. It’s one thing to talk about how energy-efficient and beautiful LED lighting is. It’s another thing to actually see the savings and have the bright, even light shine on you.

Enter Boston. City officials decided to give LED lighting a try by installing LED streetlights made by six different manufacturers. Signs are posted along the path explaining how residents can submit comments about the lighting. Thumbs up that you can even tweet them your comments (@BostonLED).

LED streetlights consume 50 percent or less energy compared to traditional streetlights, and LED streetlights are designed to last up to five times longer. And since LED streetlights don’t have ‘bulb’s that require changing, the fixtures require little maintenance.

If you’d like your city to join the program, read up on these steps they need to take. Then contact your city council representative and start asking questions. It’s just another way you can join the LED Lighting Revolution.

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Posted in LED Cities | No Comments »