REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approval of a Pilot Project for the Installation of Light Emitting Diode Streetlights and Budget Modification No. 34
BACKGROUND
In an effort to continue with the reduction of the City's carbon footprint and reduce streetlight energy consumption and maintenance cost the Department of Public Works has considered the conversion of all remaining high pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights to energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) fixtures. The City owns and maintains approximately 8,784 streetlights, the majority being the High Pressure Sodium (HPS) type. Out of these, approximately 1,859 HPS lights were converted to LED in 2012, leaving still approximately 6,900 fixtures that could be retrofitted. Sunnyvale also has a large number of street lights attached to PG&E wooden power poles that are operated and maintained by PG&E at the City's expense. PG&E maintained street lights are not part of this evaluation since the City does not own the equipment or control the replacement cycle.
The City's first round of LED retrofits were funded by an energy block grant from the Federal government supplemented by PG&E rebates. The focus of this project was to maximize energy savings by targeting higher wattage fixtures that typically occur on wide streets. A typical retrofit replaced a 200 watt HPS fixture with an 80 watt LED. Energy consumption savings realized after the conversion to LED based on PG&E's calculations and rate schedule effective January 1, 2014 is estimated to be approximately $119,000 annually. Since no City funds were involved a cost-benefit analysis was never performed.
In addition to energy savings, LEDs provide several advantages over the City's current HPS fixtures. Although HPS illuminance values are pretty close to LEDs immediately under the fixture, HPS street lighting typically creates "hot spots" with more light than needed immediately beneath the fixture and "cold spots" further away from the fixture....
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