Running costs for street lights in the borough have plummeted spectacularly following the switch to LED lights.
The programme to swap out the older, inefficient bulbs has halved energy costs and slashed Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s carbon use.
Almost all the new low-energy streetlights have now been installed. The work began in February 2017 and has seen a 56 per cent drop in energy costs for the council.
“We’re delighted that we’re saving taxpayers’ money as well as saving the planet,” said Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Environment.
“Swapping out the inefficient old bulbs for LEDs will lead to big long-term savings for the council, freeing-up money that can be put towards other essential services for residents. Reducing our energy consumption is a major part of our plan to become the greenest borough in Britain.”
Bright idea
The rollout of the new lights began in February 2017 and has also involved all the borough’s estates.
Almost 8,500 streetlight bulbs have been swapped over, with 150 more LEDs installed across the various estates.
The new LED lights are better as they:
- use much less electricity than other lamps or bulbs, reducing energy costs
- have extremely long lives compared to traditional lights
- produce very little heat
- contain no mercury
- operate effectively in extremely cold and hot environments
- produce a white light for the human eye to see natural colours at night
- reduce ‘sky glow’ and glare
- switch on instantly at full output with no warm-up time.
The brighter natural white light from the LEDs also gives better CCTV camera footage, providing clearer video images and increasing the chances of successful convictions and deterring would-be criminals.
See what else we're doing to become the greenest borough in Britain.
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