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City gets look at LED lighting |
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City gets look
at LED lighting
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July 11, 2008
By David Mullings
Mayor
Bob Risch and the City of Ouray have a bright idea — to convert about
70 city street lights from mercury vapor bulbs to more efficient light
emitting diodes (LED).
Just how bright to make it is the question.
Next Tuesday, citizens will get a chance to see what three different intensities of bulbs look like.
On
the afternoon of July 15, crews from San Miguel Power Association and
Integrity Sales Group of Golden will change out bulbs on three light
poles on upper Sixth Avenue and juice them up for the night.
New
bulbs at three levels of brightness, 30, 60 and 90 watt LEDs, will be
placed at poles at the Courthouse corner, in front of the museum, and
near the Wiesbaden motel.
In addition, two induction lights will be mounted near the school gym and alley.
Resident
can have a look and weigh in on what amount of light might be
appropriate in Ouray. At 9:30 p.m., those involved will meet at the
courthouse and evaluate the new fixtures.
Richard Waltzman, of
the bulb supplier Integrity, will be available on Wednesday to discuss
the LED technology and other products coming to the marketplace, said
Gary Miller, of San Miguel Power Association.
Risch calls the
LED lighting method the "latest and the greatest" and says the mercury
vapor bulbs "have to go." He said SMPA and Miller have been "amazingly
supportive" of the city effort to conserve electricity and save money.
No definite plans exist for after the demonstration night of LED
lighting, but Risch said it's likely that the city might be out looking
for some grant money.
Ouray's street light situation is somewhat
complicated. SMPA owns ones on the side streets and charges the city a
fixed rate that includes maintenance. The city owns about 35 along Main
Street.
By some rough estimations by Risch, the city's lamps,
burning at 400 watts over an average of 11 hours per night, consume
about 4.4 kilowatt hours. That translates to about 55 cents per lamp
per night, or $19, making the annual cost about $7,000.
A
kilowatt hour of electricity requires about two pounds of coal to
produce. A LED could cut that consumption by at least 75%, Risch said.
Additionally,
LED bulbs need only be replaced once every 20 or 30 years. Risch
guesses that a 100 watt LED will be necessary to achieve the same
illumination as the mercury vapor bulbs. |
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