Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 (Halifax, NS) – To help make our communities safer and more energy efficient, the Halifax Regional Municipality is moving forward with a project to replace all traditional high-pressure sodium streetlights in the Halifax region with energy efficient LED technology.
The municipality is responsible for more than 44,000 streetlights across the region. About 7,000 of those have already been converted to LED technology through spot replacements and smaller conversion projects.
All the remaining streetlights will be converted over an 18-month period beginning this week.
LED streetlights are widely popular for their energy efficiency, long lifespans and reduced maintenance requirements. Once complete, the conversion to LEDs will save the municipality about $5 million a year — savings that will fully fund the conversion work and continue to accrue after the project is paid for.
In 2013, Regional Council directed staff to move ahead with the streetlight conversion to comply with changes to the provincial Energy Efficient Appliances Act. Under the amended legislation, high pressure sodium streetlights are considered inefficient technology that must be replaced on all roadways in Nova Scotia by Dec. 31, 2022.
GJ Cahill and Company Ltd. in Dartmouth has been contracted to replace the streetlights, which are being supplied by the Halifax company, LED Roadway Lighting. The municipal districts furthest from the urban core will be converted first, beginning with the streetlights in District 1 (Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley) and District 2 (Preston-Chezzetcook-Eastern Shore).
As they’re replaced, each LED streetlight will be equipped with adaptive technology installed by Silver Spring Networks. Once fully implemented, the system will monitor the streetlights in real-time and send alerts when maintenance is required, allowing the municipality to better manage streetlight maintenance and eliminating the need for residents to report outages.
The old streetlight bulbs will be properly disposed of by Dan-X Recycling in Dartmouth, diverting that waste from the landfill and keeping harmful chemicals out of our environment.
Residents can follow the progress of this project using our online map. To view the map and find out more about the LED streetlight conversion project, please visit http://www.halifax.ca/traffic/LED/.
Source: Release