New lamps to save taxpayers money

LEDs give off brighter glow, can be adjusted to lower light pollution

CROMWELL >> There is a new glow about the town, the result of the installation of LED bulbs in more than 1,200 streetlights.

“We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from a number of residents,” Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore said.

And there may well be a rosy glow on the faces of taxpayers, too, if, as town officials hope, installing the energy-efficient LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, reduces the town’s street light bill by as much as $80,000 a year.

A crew installing the new lights — and fixtures — is expected to finish the project this week, Director of PublicWorks Louis J. Spina said Friday.

That will complete a project that was initially suggested to the Town Council by former Town Manager Jonathan B. Sistare in 2014.

“Mr. Sistare first brought the concept to the council’s attention,” Salvatore said.

In February 2015, the council voted to initiate a financial analysis of the proposal to buy the light fixtures from Eversource and replace the bulbs with LEDs.

Ironically, the council vote came just as Sistare left Cromwell after resigning so he could return to his native New Hampshire. He was replaced by Salvatore, the town’s former police chief.

Since March 2015, “I’ve been working on this in coordination with Mrs. [Director of Finance Marianne] Sylvester and Mr. Spina,” Salvatore said.

That work involved “compiling an audit of street lights and starting to prepare the financial documents,” Salvatore said.

The town hired ESCO Energy Service Co., which managed the conversion from sodium vapor to LED lights.

In a presentation to the council in February 2015, an ESCO official explained the town would eliminate the rental fee it paid to CL&P and is successor, Eversource, as well as the maintenance fee.

After finalizing contracts with ESCO and Eversource, the town took ownership of the lights in August 2016.

Beginning in late December, a contractor, Power Source, began replacing the bulbs on some 1,240 fixtures, Spina said. Spina said he was impressed with the company’s performance. “They were doing 40 to 60 replacements a day,” he said.

“We were very fortunate that the weather was very cooperative during the installation phase,” Salvatore said.

In outlining his proposal to the council, Sistare said LEDs, which are actually mini-computers, give off a clearer, brighter white light, and one that can be focused to reduce light pollution. The lights can be adjusted to be more or less bright.

They also have a usable life of eight to 10 years, the ESCO representative said.

The town has established a long-term maintenance fund that would go toward repair and eventual replacement of the LEDs, Salvatore said.

The initial response to the new lights has been mostly positive, Salvatore said. “We’ve had a number of comments, very favorable responses from residents,” he said.

The new fixtures are much “cleaner” in terms of their design, and more linear. The town will profit from replacing the fixtures as well, Spina said, explaining the old fixtures are being sold for scrap.

While the work is essentially done, there are some areas where they have not been replaced, including the portion of the Berlin Road/Route 372 between routes 9 and 91, Spina said.

“We’ve been told replacing those light is the responsibility of the state,” Salvatore said.

FILE PHOTO