In 2014, the City of Detroit Lakes was looking at aesthetic and infrastructure upgrades to Washington Ave, including plans to retrofit the existing high pressure sodium (HPS) street lights to LEDs. “One of our goals was to create public awareness of LED lighting through this project and showcase our goal to retrofit all street lighting to LEDs,” said Josh Mason, energy services specialist with the city’s public utility. “Since Washington Ave is our main street, we wanted the project to be highly visible and much talked about in Detroit Lakes.”
The project hit some bumps along the way when two separate rounds of bidding came in over budget. After the second round of bids were rejected, the city decided to replace six lights mounted on existing traffic signals in 2014. In summer of 2015, the city will complete the installation of the remaining street lights, which will be more involved since they will need to replace the existing light poles before mounting the LED fixture.
“Installation went very well,” notes Mason. “The six LEDs were mounted on traffic signal poles that were in very good shape. The line crew used bucket trucks to access the lights and since the fixtures were a match (Memphis style), except for being LED, it was basically a plug and play installation. We were able to use the existing photo eye so no equipment or extra time was needed. The lights have a very nice color and light output.” Photo eyes are sensors that determine brightness outdoors and automatically turn the street light on and off as natural light dims and brightens.
“In addition, in our lighting estimate we showed the difference in upfront cost of the LEDs vs HPS bulbs and energy consumption/maintenance costs. Although the LEDs have a higher upfront cost, it is justified through energy savings and reduced maintenance cost. In terms of community support, we designed an educational poster highlighting the benefits of LEDs over HPS lighting,” Mason explains. “Many of our commercial customers are looking to retrofit indoor and outdoor lighting to LEDs and we can use these lights as identifiable examples of performance.”
Staff posted pictures of the installation on the city Facebook page. “We heard lots of positive feedback on the lights color and appearance,” says Mason. He noted that as of this writing that the project is moving forward and an additional lights were being changed to LED, bringing the project up to a total of 30 lights retrofitted to LEDs this summer. “The seed grant project really helped people see the difference and get used to the LEDs, and the costs have come down even more since last year. Detroit Lakes Public Utilities’ commitment to LED street lighting shows the community our dedication to sustainability and energy savings,” Mason concludes.
See photos of the installations on Flickr and below:
Central CERT supported this project with a $4,300 Seed Grant awarded during the 2014 round.
Project Snapshot:
- Location: Detroit Lakes, MN
- Activity: Implementation, Outreach
- Technology: Energy Efficiency – Lighting Upgrades (6 LED street fixtures)
- Total cost: $11,843
- CERT Funding: $4,300
- Estimated Energy Saved: 4,678 kWh per year
- People Involved & Reached: 16,279
Want to learn how your community can get a CERTs Seed Grant to advance your work? Applications for the next round of grants are available and due October 26th. To get started, visit the Seed Grant page and see other awarded projects from past years.
About the Local Government Energy Action Series:
This effort tells the stories of Minnesota municipalities, counties, and schools and the tangible results of their energy-saving efforts to inspire others to take their own actions.
