Porirua gives LEDs green light
The future is looking bright in Porirua as its old yellow streetlights are being replaced with new white light-emitting LEDs.
Papakowhai and Titahi Bay residents will be the first to see the yellow sodium vapour streetlights go. The rest of the city will be switched over by June.
The conversion of 4650 lights around the city - not including lights in parks, sporting facilities and carparks - will cost the council $2.9 million, but it will share that cost with the New Zealand Transport Agency which will provide all but $357,000.
The move is part of a nationwide changeover, with neighbouring councils such as Wellington City and Kapiti already agreeing to switch over with the same 85 per cent Government subsidy.
Though the council had not received complaints about the old yellow lamps, LED lights can appear brighter so contractors will test them before and after their installation to ensure neighbourhoods maintain the same overall light intensity.
The council’s chief operating officer, Tamsin Evans, said after the initial spend, the LED lights would save the city about $180,000 a year in maintenance costs plus energy savings of about $90,000 a year.
‘‘LEDs draw 50 per cent less power than our current sodium lamps, plus they last longer and require less maintenance.
‘‘That means direct savings for the city because they don’t need to be replaced as often and are cheaper to run and maintain.’’
In Whitby and Aotea, the project will require the existing light fittings to be removed and replaced with new fittings to take the LED lamps. They will be more wind resistant and longer lasting.
All light fittings and casings will be recycled. The contractors doing the replacement work will hold on to the bulbs for future maintenance purposes if needed, depending on how old they are.
Others will be scrapped and sent to InterWaste because of the high concentrate of mercury in them.
LED LIGHTS
Better visibility and colours can be seen more accurately, making them safer for pedestrians and road users.
They create less light pollution because the white light is directed downwards to the road and footpath.
LEDs have a longer lifespan than sodium vapour street lamps, lasting 10 to 20 years compared with 2 to 5 years.