Luzerne County government saving money with LED lights

In a double-win, the lighting atop the Wyoming Valley Levee in the area of Kirby and Nesbitt parks is both brighter and cheaper due to a LED conversion project.

Government officials often predict projects will save money, but in this case Luzerne County officials recently followed up and documented a tangible reduction in expenses.

Under an agreement with the levee overseer — the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority — the county is responsible for the electric bill for lighting along this west side levee stretch, which includes lights under both the Market Street and Veterans Memorial (Pierce Street) bridges, said county Engineer William McIntosh.

Completed in 2017, the switch to LED lighting cost $6,486 for the bulbs, globes and other miscellaneous parts, he said.

McIntosh completed the engineering design in-house, and flood authority levee workers completed the installation, he said.

The October 2016 UGI electric bill was $1,249, while the October 2020 bill was $283, or $966 less, McIntosh said.

This overall 77.3% reduction in electricity costs resulted in annual savings of nearly $10,000, he said. That exceeded initial projections of about $7,000 in reductions annually.

But there’s more. The county sought and received a $5,564 energy rebate incentive from UGI Electric, reducing the total project cost to $922.

That means the savings paid for the project in slightly over one month, McIntosh said.

Since June 2017, the county has saved more than $37,000 in lighting expenses based on the review of bills, county Operational Services Division Head Edmund O’Neill told council in a recent email..

“Bill McIntosh and Eddie O’Neill identified this as an area of concern in 2017, and as you could see, their hard work has paid off for the taxpayers,” county Manager C. David Pedri told council.

In all, 104 high-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs were replaced through the project. Fixtures under the Veterans Memorial Bridge also were replaced.

Crews removed all ballasts and capacitors from the lighting fixtures because these components generate heat, routinely fail and are not needed with LED bulbs, McIntosh said.

The LED bulbs also have more than twice the life span — 50,000 hours compared to 24,000 with the old ones, McIntosh said.

“An added benefit was an improvement in the light color, from the familiar amber of HPS to bright white of the LED bulbs,” he said.

Levee lights on the east side of the Susquehanna River along the River Common also were converted to LED. However, the savings from this stretch is difficult to accurately quantify because the electric bill is covered by the flood authority and includes costs to power levee pumping station motors, McIntosh said.

Lighting was incorporated in these levee stretches because they are connected to outdoor recreational facilities, said Christopher Belleman, the flood protection authority’s executive director.

Illuminating additional sections of the 16-mile levee system would be too costly and not an expense that could be covered by the flood protection authority, Belleman said.

The authority relies primarily on revenue from a fee on 14,150 levee-protected properties, and this funding is limited to flood-control purposes, he said. Permanent lighting is not a necessary expense for the entire system because the authority relies on portable lights to monitor the levee in the dark during flooding, he said.

“At the end of the day, this is a flood-control system,” Belleman said of the levee.

Although the asphalt atop much of the levee was designed primarily for maintenance access and flood monitoring, it is popular for biking, walking and jogging.

More LED

Most county properties now have LED lights as part of an energy efficiency savings program, McIntosh said.

The county also is upgrading the lighting on the North Cross Valley Expressway to LED, he said.

Budgeted at $100,000, the North Cross Valley safety lighting upgrade falls under the county’s responsibility due to a 1976 agreement with the state.

The highway’s existing high-pressure sodium fixtures are more than 30 years old and deteriorating. Contractors also will repair or replace wiring and controls as needed, McIntosh said.

McIntosh predicts that project will save the county money and increase the night visibility for motorists.

The county engineer department is completing the project with Denney Electric Supply and Slate Belt Electric, and McIntosh is optimistic it will be completed by the summer.

”It’s going to look beautiful when it’s done,” he said.

If funds are available, McIntosh next wents to complete an LED conversion on lighting along a portion of the South Cross Valley Expressway that also falls under the county’s responsibility due to a past agreement.