The city of Philadelphia, PA is currently replacing 130,000 high pressure sodium street lights with LEDs, and connecting them to a lighting management system. The new system is expected to reduce street lighting energy use by more than 50% , cut municipal carbon emissions by more than 9%, and also enhance residents’ safety.
“As we move towards a resilient and climate-ready Philadelphia, the Philly Streetlight Improvement Project exemplifies the win-win infrastructure investments the city needs,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “LED streetlights will enhance the quality of life for all Philadelphians by providing better, more reliable lighting. It will also help us advance toward our city’s goals for Vision Zero, by providing better visibility to reduce traffic crashes, as well as ensure our continued progress toward meeting our 2030 energy and climate goals.”
The project will be carried out over the next two years, with neighborhoods where public safety needs are highest being prioritized. The US$91 million project is designed to be cost-neutral over its 20-year financing period, due to energy savings, reduced operations and maintenance costs, and energy efficiency rebates. It was funded through the city’s Sustainability Bond, which was issued by the Philadelphia Energy Authority.
Street lighting operations and maintenance requirements will be streamlined by the new lighting system as it provides the ability to dim and brighten fixtures and receive instant updates on outages. The new fixtures are designed to have a warm color temperature, a diffused lens for enhanced visual comfort, and higher lumen outputs in priority installation areas. The systems’ design is based on community feedback received from surveys taken across 15 trial installations during the 13-month development period.