Community Corner
Southington Could Soon Save Energy on Downtown Street Lights
A move by the Southington Energy Committee could lead to thousands in savings in just a few years - all while keeping the lights on.
The town could soon see energy savings in the downtown area after the town’s Energy Committee approved a recommendation that will switch downtown lighting to a more energy-efficient induction scheme.
Plans call for a retrofitting of existing fixtures on all “cobra head” street lights on N. Main and Center Streets, as well as for those on the town green.
The current lights have been inefficient and problematic, according to town representatives and Ed Humel, an engineer for ProEnergy LLC. ProEnergy, a lighting and electrical specialist, has been servicing Southington’s lights since June of last year.
In a presentation to the committee, Humel stated that design flaws in the existing fixtures, originally installed by the Osram Sylvania electrical company, have caused bulbs to burn out with regularity. Complaints are commonplace, committee members said, and the location of the lights – located along busy roads in the center of town – make repairs unsafe.
Humel has created a new induction fixture that he said would reduce energy usage by 60 to 70 percent. Slightly less light will be emitted, but there will not be a visible difference to the naked eye.
The design is of Humel’s own making and has already been guaranteed by Philips Lighting. “People are afraid of induction lighting because they don’t know much about it,” Humel said,” but it’s been around for 20 years already.”
L. Michael Roberts, Chief Technology Officer of Indulux Technologies, said few know much about induction because lighting companies have generally failed to promote it. Instead, we often hear of their more durable, but more expensive, LED products.
Where the typical metal halide or fluorescent bulb will burn out within 20,000 hours, induction lamps can last up to 100,000 hours – more than 20 years, if the lights stay on their current schedule of 12 hours per day. Roberts also noted that induction lights have a greater resistance to wind and cold.
After purchasing the fixtures, which cost around $460 each, and calculating for installation costs, the town expects a return on their investment within three years.
The Energy Committee will hold off final approval until the official proposals come in this Friday but members were guardedly optimistic.
“The energy savings are good, the pricing is good,” said committee member Steve Gendreau, “but I’m a little nervous about hacking up an existing fixture.”
The concern was discussed, and approval will also be pending verification of Philips’ endorsement and an examination of the adapted fixture by Gendreau, an engineer himself.
Plans for the switch do seem to be under way however. Under the current system, Humel is forced to go out on frequent repairs and the town is subject to the expenses of inefficient lighting. Committee member Fred Cox summed the proposal up best, saying, “This sounds like a win-win for everybody here.”
