Town council members from Berlin located in Connecticut, U.S. has approved a US $ 1.48 million contract to swap 2,538 streetlights with LEDs , reported Hartford Courant.

The payback period of the lighting project is expected to take less than four years, and is part of an $8.77 million energy conservation plan the town approved earlier this month with project contractor NORESCO, a United Technologies subsidiary.

Financing approved for the projects will be used for the streetlight conversion.

Town Manager Denise McNair pointed out the figures and estimations submitted to the council Tuesday were the result of a streetlight audit the town authorized in April to determine the cost, maintenance, savings and other factors.

The proposed plan will give streetlight ownership to the town, and the contract includes maintenance and upkeep for the poles and fixtures.

Savings in streetlight energy bills will be part of the overall energy savings made through conservation and upgrades that will pay the entire cost of the NORESCO project.

Tank Streetlighting of San Francisco is the vendor for the job. The council has passed the contract, and at a meeting on Tuesday council members requested the extent of the LED lighting upgrade to include the town’s athletic playing fields. A price for the additional work will be given to the council at a later meeting.

The LED streetlights are expected to reduce 75% of energy usage than high pressure sodium bulbs. The town’s annual street-lighting electricity bill will be slashed from $391,539 to $49,247, generating a first year savings of $342,292.

Through a 20-year period, the streetlights are estimated to save $7.54 million in energy costs. The 20-year estimate for usage of high pressure sodium bulbs will be lowered to $8.62 million and costs for more efficient LED fixtures will be at about $ 1.08 million.