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Date: 3/27/2015
CHICOPEE – The city will be saving money, providing residents with more efficient lighting and decreasing light pollution with the installation of LED street lights.
Mayor Richard Kos and Chicopee Electric Light Department (CELD) General Manager Jeffrey Cady explained the many benefits of the installation that will take over the next four years at an announcement on March 23.
Chicopee will be the first city in the region to fully switch out the standard sodium bulb with the energy efficient LEDs, Kos said.
Kos added, “This is a great opportunity for our city to advance not only in technology, but also in costs savings.”
The lights on Beauchamp Terrace have been changed as a way for city officials to review the new lighting.
Cady said the city has more than 4,600 streetlights and the cost to replace them all is $1.1 million. He said the maintenance for the LED bulbs is much less – sodium bulbs last between six and seven years while LED bulbs will burn for 20 years.
Cady said the return on the city’s investment will be made in six to seven years over a 20 year period, the city will realize a savings of $3 million.
The main streets in the city will be switched first, he said and then the neighborhood streetlights will be changed.
CELD will pay for the cost of the fixtures upfront and the city will pay back 80 percent through the savings over a seven-year period.
“Chicopee Electric Light is donating the labor, so the only cost to the city will be the cost of the street light fixtures themselves. In addition, we have structured the payments so that the city is saving money while paying for the program,” Cady said.
City Council President George Moreau saw the test array and said, “It makes a big difference.”
He added, “The city can always use the savings.”
Kos said the LED bulbs focus light on the street, which decreases light pollution and encourages a “dark sky.”
Jim Lisowski, CELD assistant general manager, said there is an effort to prevent light pollution by having “a lot less upward lighting.” Light pollution, he added, can affect wildlife, aviation and views of the night sky.
A map showing the scheduled areas and timelines of the switch-out will be posted and updated regularly on http://www.celd.com.