Honolulu and the Canadian city of Calgary are reported to replace sodium-vapor streetlights with energy saving LEDs, according to a news report by HNGN.
Honolulu announced the city will start to install 51,000 LED streetlights by May 2015. The project is expected to be completed before 2020, and the conversion is expected to halve the city’s lighting bill to US $3 million per year.
Meanwhile, Calgary has just finished installing 2,500 LED streetlights, and is entering second phase of its LED retrofit project. The city hopes to finish 77,500 more streetlight replacement by 2018, which could reduce the city’s energy consumption up to 55%, according to the city’s spokesperson.
"The nice thing about the LED lights is that they really direct the light downwards, on to the road and the sidewalk where we really want it to be lighting as opposed to up into the air." said a local citizen Julie Yepishina-Geller.
She also said research has been done to see the impact of the lighting to the city’s appearance before entering second phase.
LEDs are gaining government acceptance for its energy-saving feature and affordable price. According to figures of U.S. Department of Energy, 36% of lighting will be LEDs by 2020, and the number will climb to 74% by 2030.