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Dublin City Council could halve its €7m-a-year lighting bill
by using more energy-efficient bulbs, it has been claimed.
City bosses spend about €4m a year maintaining its streetlights
and a further €3.1m in electricity costs.
However, a company which has developed eco-friendly LED bulbs
said these costs could be massively reduced.
Frontline
LED, which is seeking to give a presentation to the
council's transport and traffic Strategic Policy Committee
(SPC), has pointed to Boston as an example. The US city has
announced it is to phase-in its use of LED lighting over the
next five years.
In a report sent to councillors, Frontline's Cian O'Flaherty
said Boston "currently spends about $16m (€11.74m) per year
on energy costs and about $2m (€1.4m) in replacement costs
for 67,484 streetlights".
"Although LED lights cost more than traditional lights, they
could help to reduce as much as 50pc of the city's spending
on public lighting in the long run," Mr O'Flaherty said. "Traditional
light sources require replacement every two to three years,
whereas LED streetlights would last between 10 and 25 years,"
he added.
While Dublin city has no LED street lighting at present,
it is undertaking a couple of pilot LED projects.
The technology provides an alternative to conventional sodium
and CFL bulbs, Mr O'Flaherty added.
Labour's Cllr Dermot Lacey told the Herald that Frontline
states "they are offering a far cheaper and better system
of public lighting". He added that the first step would be
to invite the company to attend the transport SPC to make
a presentation.
Among the other claims is that LED light "approximates to
white light, so there is a substantial improvement in CCTV
images".
"There is no colour distortion and there is higher resolution
for images," Mr O'Flaherty said.
However, it is unclear whether the council has the finance
available to cover the cost of conversion, as an LED light
bulb is significantly more expensive than the alternatives.
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