Bellingham is the largest city in Whatcom County in the State of Washington, U.S. The streets of the city started to look brighter from Dec. 7, 2015, following the ongoing LED streetlights conversion. Crews from Northwest Edison, an energy company, started switching the city’s aging high- pressure sodium lamps to LEDs, reported the Bellingham Herald.

The LED streetlights conversion will replace approximately 3,600 lights within five weeks, according to Superintendent of Traffic Clark Williams.

The proposed US $4 million project expense is expected to be paid off by energy savings within 12 years. The conversion also received US $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Energy Efficiency Grant program while it is to receive US $400,000 in rebates from Puget Sound Energy.

The guaranteed 10- year lifetime will save the city and taxpayer money in the long run while existing lights requires replacement every three to five years.

Meanwhile, LED streetlights will save up to 40% to 50% on energy bills and can be recycled more easily as they contain no hazardous substance.

On top of that, the built- in sensor on each of the streetlight will provide feedback to city staff through connected control system. This means that the city can stop relying on citizen reports but locate broken or problematic streetlights themselves.

New white LED streetlights have been replaced on parts of the streets, including Old Fairhaven Parkway and Sunset Drive.