San Diego switches to 'green' street lights
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chaussuresMore than 35,000 low-energy light fixtures are going

up across San Diego as the city seeks to cut costs and reduce

energy consumption, city officials announced Monday.

San Diego is changing out streetlights with high-efficiency models

such as this one to save energy and money.
When the project is done in about 18 months, San Diego will have

replaced about three-quarters of its street lights as part of a

$16 million program. City officials figure it will take less than

six years to make their money back in lower energy bills.
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It's part of a regional initiative to go green using new

technology in lighting. From Carlsbad to El Cajon, agencies are

switching from old-style fixtures such as sodium vapor lights to

"induction" lights and other energy-efficient varieties. In all,

there about 145,000 streetlights in the service territory of San

Diego Gas & Electric.

"This is great for San Diego from every perspective," Mayor Jerry

Sanders said in a statement before a morning press conference to

announce the initiative. "The city will save $2.2 million annually

from reduced energy and maintenance costs, and the higher-quality

light will make our neighborhoods safer."

The new light fixtures will make colors easier to see at night

because they produce a broader light spectrum than sodium vapors.
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However, the movement to new types of lamps has caused concern

among dark-sky advocates who worry that modern lighting will spoil

night views at local observatories. In response, city leaders have

sought to cut down glare from the new lights, for instance, by

using shields to direct light downward instead of into space.

San Diego said the retrofit will be paid for by a $13 million

bond, $2 million in federal grant stimulus funding, and a $3

million low-interest state loan. In addition, SDG&E will provide a

one-time $1.2 million rebate for the lighting change. Access to

the state bond money allowed the city to more than triple the

number of lights had planning to replace through San Marcos-based

Southern Contracting.

The bid for the work came in low enough that city should be able

to do even more than anticipated, said Tom Blair, a deputy

director in the city's Environmental Services Department.

San Diego's retrofit project began Sept. 13 and is planned for

completion in early 2013. It's expected to reduce electricity

consumption by 16 million kilowatt-hours each year and trim carbon

pollution by more than 12,000 tons yearly.
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City leaders said they chose induction lighting over LED lamps

citing a 20-year life-cycle study that showed broad-band induction

lights saved more energy, were less expensive and provided better

light.

"It is the most cost-effective energy efficiency project because

it is (replacing) lighting that's on from dusk to dawn, which we

basically figure as 11 hours a day," Blair said.

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