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Pittsburgh might install LED streetlights city-wide

Study estimates $1 million in annual savings, but light pollution and LED's inability to give off heat are issues.

By Katy Rank LevTue, Jan 19 2010 at 8:11 PM EST
 5

BRIGHT LIGHTS: Pittsburgh officials worry that a total switch to LED streetlights will make the streets too bright after dark. (Photo: caseywest/Flickr)
The city of Pittsburgh, Penn., may heed a recommendation to switch all of its streetlights from high-pressure sodium lights to light-emitting-diode (LED) lamps, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The University of Pittsburgh's Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation conducted a Life Cycle Assessment of Streetlight Technologies in the city and found that LEDs are the best bet environmentally when the lamp's entire life is taken into consideration. Even though the production of LEDs is not as efficient or sustainable as that of other light products, when the Mascaro study took into account energy savings as well as longevity of the product, LEDs came out on top.
 
According to the article, the city could reduce CO2 emissions by 6,818 metric tons per year, save $1 million annually in energy costs and $700,000 in maintenance fees with LED streetlights. Only about 1 percent of the streetlights in the country are powered by LEDs, primarily Los Angeles, Calif., and Anchorage, Alaska, meaning Pittsburgh would be a leader in adopting this technology on a large scale. The city has already installed LED streetlights in the Southside neighborhood and, as an experiment, lit one side of a popular shopping street with LEDs and the other with "other technologies." The result? The article quotes Bill Peduto, city councilman, saying, "the superior quality of LED lighting is obvious."
 
The LED streetlights are not without drawbacks, however. The LEDs are very bright and cast a blue-tinted light, so light pollution might be an issue. Another issue is heat, or lack thereof — LEDs don't get hot the way traditional streetlights do. In places like Wichita, Kan., this became problematic when a recent article in the Wichita Eagle reported that LED lights failed to melt ice and snow. Wichita's LED traffic lights became covered in snow, making it difficult for drivers to tell the colors of the lights, though the article said no accidents have been attributed to this problem.
 
The Pitt study of the lifecycle of the streetlights is one of the first cradle-to-grave studies done on urban lighting, according to the Post-Gazette, and the findings indicate that LEDs will become increasingly more efficient as the technology improves. The study "compared LED lighting with computer chips in projecting ... cost reductions for years to come."
 
Several subcommittees of the Pittsburgh City Council will develop a better streetlight network and, as the city is one of the few nationwide without a lighting code, will propose a Pittsburgh lighting code. Once these analyses and codes are in place, the city will make a final decision regarding the switch. At any rate, Pittsburgh hopes the research study and task force studies will serve as "a standard tool for municipalities worldwide to evaluate streetlight technologies." The city hopes to begin installation of new lights later this summer.
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Related Topics: Alternative Energy, LED, Light Pollution, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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anonymous
Steve Austin 07/19/2010 23:53 PM

Choosing new technology over old, a University of Pittsburgh study recommends that Pittsburgh replace its 40,000 street lights with LED lighting. LED -- lighting would offset negative environmental impacts of the LED Manufacturers, manufacturing process by a factor of 10.

anonymous
Blake Lange 03/29/2010 14:02 PM

LED streetlights are gaining momentum. There are a lot of poor quality fixtures on the market. One key advantage is the gradual elimination of light pollution. We are a US manufacturer of LED streetlights. We would like you to read the following study by Missouri State University: http://www.missouristate.edu/assets/econ/World_Light_Pollution.pdf

Millennia Technologies Inc.
.... More

anonymous
Pranjali Wakade 03/10/2010 23:12 PM

I have yet to see LED lights like the ones on sydney street. They cover a large area and are bright and clear. Would like to see them around.

anonymous
Nathan 06/22/2011 19:50 PM

You mention Sydney street, where...Sydney Australia?

anonymous
Elessar 02/25/2010 14:35 PM

None of those potential problems sounds anything like a deal breaker to me, especially compared to the financial and green drawbacks of standard high pressure sodium street lights. The LED's are too blue? Put a colored lens on the cover. They're too bright? Make the lens thicker and a little more opaque. Need to give off more heat? Install a small, switchable heating coil in the light housing.... More

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