Energy-saving Streetlights Installed in 25 Metro Area Cities
Kansas City Info-zone, December 9, 2013The Smart Lights for Smart Cities initiative installed more than 5,700 street lights in 25 metropolitan area communities.
Kansas City, MO – infoZine – The lights are much brighter — and cheaper to operate — in many metro area communities, thanks to the Mid-America Regional Council’s Smart Lights for Smart Cities initiative, a three-year project funded by an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. More than 5,700 high-efficiency streetlights (primarily light-emitting diode, or LED) were purchased and/or installed in 25 communities with populations below 35,000.Through the Smart Lights program, MARC showcased different technologies and vendors, demonstrating firsthand the benefits of changing from mercury vapor and high-pressure sodium streetlights to a more energy-efficient lighting system, involving induction or LED technologies. The program, which ended in October 2013, has the potential to transform the metro area’s streetlight market.