Opportunity
Located in West-Central Utah, the small town of Oak City, with a population near 650, is leading the charge to reduce energy consumption and taking steps to reclaim the visibility of Utah’s evening sky.
Solution
Oak City and 13 similar communities around the state are making the switch to all LED streetlighting by utilizing Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) funding. These dollars, secured for the communities with assistance from the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, allow Oak City to trim energy and maintenance costs from its budget. With anticipated payback of three years, the town converted all of its HPS streetlights to Cree® LED luminaires and realized approximately 40 to 60 percent savings in energy and maintenance costs.
“This is a case of being small enough to take advantage of EECBG funding in a big way,” stated David K. Steele, Oak City town councilman who also oversees the community’s electric system. “Without the EECBG, we most likely would not have the resources to pursue such a large conversion. Now the town can also expand with LED streetlights into residential areas that previously had no source of street lighting available.”
Benefits
The community is also benefiting from an increase in visibility of the evening sky from the reduction in light pollution – one resident who is an amateur astronomer remarked to Steele that they are now able to have a clearer view of the stars, planets and evening sky. Other Oak City residents have commented that they like the overall appearance of the clean, white light compared to the orange light of the previous HPS fixtures.
Products Used
