The roads throughout the city of Phoenix are being lit more efficiently through a more than 95,000-fixture conversion to LED street lighting---a move expected to save the Valley of the Sun upward of US $100,000 each year.

To support a citywide Green Phoenix Initiative, the capital of Arizona plans to convert each of its high pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures to GE's LED street lighting, as well as use the more efficient fixtures for all street lamps installed in areas of new construction.

GE Evolve™ LED Roadway Scalable Cobrahead fixtures are expected to provide 60 percent energy savings and reduce maintenance costs for the city of Phoenix. (LEDinside/GE Lighitng)

With new and continued construction and development throughout the city, Phoenix officials knew they had to identify a means for combatting subsequent skyrocketing energy costs. Partnering with electrical utility Arizona Public Service (APS), the city researched alternatives to standard high intensity discharge (HID) systems, comparing energy consumption, light intensity, color and ambient temperature---and overall value, said Jason Fernandez, principal engineer technician with the Phoenix Street Transportation Department.

"We reviewed more than two dozen fixtures and conducted controlled testing for nearly four years to examine characteristics such as lighting patterns, overspill and uplighting," Fernandez said.

The city of Phoenix is converting its street lights to GE's Evolve™ LED Roadway Scalable Cobrahead fixtures. (LEDinside/GE Lighting)

APS led additional testing of fixtures in the field and installed five of GE's Evolve™ LED street lights, including the ERS1 and ERS2 fixtures, he said. The fixtures' heat sensitivity especially was a consideration for Phoenix, a city with average summer temperatures of 105 degrees and high temperatures often above 120 degrees.

"GE's Evolve LED street lighting is our new standard and will be installed anywhere a fixture needs replaced or where new construction and capital improvements occur," Fernandez said. "Additionally, with the energy and cost savings we experience from each new fixture, we're putting that money toward our investment for more LED street lights."

The overall conversion to GE's Evolve™ LED Roadway Scalable Cobrahead street lighting fixtures is expected to save the city of Phoenix more than US $57,000 in energy costs. (LEDinside/GE Lighting)

With 700 anticipated to be converted by year's end, the city is installing GE's Evolve LED Roadway Scalable Cobrahead fixtures. Officials anticipate the city's overall conversion to LED street lighting along its more than 4,800 miles of public streets will be completed around the year 2020, yielding a projected 60 percent savings in energy use compared with HPS. This will save the city more than US $57,000 in annual energy costs, plus an additional US $41,000 in anticipated maintenance savings from the Evolve LED Roadway Scalable Cobrahead fixture, which offers more than 11 years of reliable service, based on a rated 50,000-hour lifetime and 12 hours of operation per day.

To learn more about GE's outdoor lighting solutions, including lighting controls for street lighting fixtures, visit www.gelighting.com/roadway. For information about GE's commitment to innovative solutions to today's environmental challenges, visit www.ecomagination.com.