Ann Arbor embraces LED technology

The city will begin installing the street lamps next month. More than a 1000 LED’s are set to be installed in downtown Ann Arbor. After this process 100% of Ann Arbor’s street lights will be using LED’s. 

LED’s or Light Emitting Diodes are semiconductor diodes that emit light and are a type of SSL (Sold State Lighting). A LED Lamp consists of multiple bulbs that are located within a single bulb; LED’s can also be enclosed in multiple varieties of shapes. 

Solid State Lighting is different from conventional lighting due to the fact that it does not use gas or filaments to illuminate itself. SSL’s posses multiple advantages over normal light bulbs as they give off less heat and can handle longer periods of wear and tear as well as shock and vibration. This in turn helps them to last longer. 

Why you may ask is the city of Ann Arbor spending all this money to replace conventional lights with those using LED’s? There are a multitude of reasons. For example, an incandescent light bulb has a lifespan of 1000 hours while a florescent light bulb can last about 10 times as long. An LED Lamp on the other hand, has a lifespan of over 100,000 hours. 

The main benefits of LEDs lamps come from their greater energy efficiency and smaller carbon footprint. These lamps may help Ann Arbor save up to 50% of their lighting bill and give off 2,425 less tons of CO2. That is the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the road for a year. 

Currently, greater LED adoption is hampered by a high manufacturing cost. Various government agencies such as the Department of Energy are spending large sums of money to try to make the technology more affordable. The DOE hopes that by 2025 the use of energy for lighting will come down by 50% with the greater adoption of SSL’s, particularly LED’s. This would reduce carbon emissions by 300 metric tons a year as well as save $120 billion. The total consumption of energy worldwide would also decrease 10%. 

Other cities in North America, such as Toronto and Raleigh have already taken the example of Ann Arbor and have started installing LED street lights. It is estimated that Ann Arbor will pay off the cost of installing the energy efficient lights in under 4 years. 

Increasingly many cities, homes and businesses are realizing going green is not only the right thing to do, but doing so can save money in the long run.

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