Manassas to try LED street lights

By Kipp Hanley

Published: August 27, 2008

The City of Manassas is doing an experiment that will likely be common practice in less than 10 years, said Electric Utilities Director Gregg Paulson.

In the coming weeks, the city will begin the process of selecting a neighborhood for the installation of LED lights in place of the common high pressure sodium lights.

The project is being done to determine whether the new lights will help cut down on vandalism, graffiti and other crime.  But that’s not the only potential benefit to them.

LED streetlights have been proven to save as much as 60 percent on energy costs and give off a much lower carbon footprint than the typical streetlight. Each streetlight would cut out as much greenhouse gas produced by a car driving for 14 months, according to renewable energy products company Global Green Energy.

They are also supposed to improve visibility.

Paulson said the demand for the lights has not reached a level yet where the city can afford an LED light at every corner. The cost of one LED light today is $70, nearly 10 times the price of a sodium bulb.

“In five or 10 years, those lights will be competitively priced and will ultimately be cheaper than what we are buying now,” Paulson said. “It’s simply an issue of supply and demand.”

The neighborhood experiment will likely involve around 12 lights, which will be retrofitted on a permanent basis for the new LED bulbs, Paulson said. The Public Works grounds will also be a part of the project.

Manassas would be following Ann Arbor, Mich. as one of the first communities to eventually convert to all LED lights. All of the traffic lights in the city have been converted to LED lights, a common practice in many communities across the country, Paulson said.

The city already saves 40 percent on maintenance and reduced energy costs with the new traffic signals, Paulson said.