Sioux Falls announces LED streetlight pilot project

The city of Sioux Falls will soon have brighter, more efficient streetlighting in six pilot areas of the community.  The pilot project will replace traditional high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights with light emitting diode (LED) streetlights.

In total, 65 light fixtures will be replaced with the LED Streetlight Neighborhood Pilot Project.  The new LED streetlights, which are expected to last at least 100,000 hours, will provide the same amount of light but use about half as much energy as the existing HPS streetlights.  The project is expected to realize annual energy savings of over 48,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), equating to over $4,000 per year.  The project will pay for itself in savings in just under five years, or 20,000 operating hours.  The new streetlights will also be on their own meter, allowing city officials to monitor the power consumption of the new lights and compare to traditional streetlights.

“Streetlighting is a vital piece of our city’s infrastructure, and it represents a significant portion of our electricity consumption,” says Sioux Falls Light Superintendent Jerry Jongeling.  “We are starting with a pilot project because we want to receive input from the public about the aesthetics and quality of light from the new streetlights.  Because of the potential energy and cost savings, we hope to eventually switch out all traditional HPS lights with LED streetlights.”

The city received a $5,000 energy efficiency grant from Heartland to help supplement a portion of the expenses for upgrading the city’s lighting.

“LED streetlighting is more affordable than ever, and once they are installed, residents are typically happy with the upgrade,” said Heartland Communications Manager Ann Hyland.  “More and more of our customers are upgrading to this technology and finding the cost savings to be remarkable.  They also provide a whiter, brighter light.”

The city has already realized energy savings by converting all traffic signals to LED lights.  In the city’s first LED pilot area, Lake Lorraine, nine metered streetlights light the development.  Since the lights were installed in November of 2014, city officials have been able to track energy savings, with each LED streetlight costing just $0.15 per day to light, in comparison to $0.33 per day it would cost per HPS streetlight.  The city will also spend less on maintaining the new streetlights, as each LED fixture lasts an average of 20 years, versus the four-to-five year life span of HPS fixtures.

Residents are invited to provide input about the LED Neighborhood Streetlight Pilot Project by taking a brief survey at
www.siouxfalls.org/LED.