Click Here

Raleigh Leaders Plan Test of LED Lighting

Parking Deck W/ LED Lighting
Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker has a bright idea to help cut utility bills in the city. Raleigh leaders announced Monday that the Capital City will become the first LED city.

Raleigh officials have teamed up with Cree, Inc. in Research Triangle Park to save money and help the environment. Raleigh public works employees will test and implement Cree’s Light Emitting Diode lighting components across the city.

In a pilot program late last year, LED lights were installed in a parking deck downtown. Progress Energy, the city’s primary energy provider, said that the floor equipped with LED lights used more than 40 percent less energy than the standard lighting system. Also, the quality of the lighting was greatly improved, according to Progress Energy’s research.

As part of the initiative, more Cree lighting components will be tested in other applications, such as street lights, architectural and accent lighting, and pedestrian and walkway lights, over the next 18 months. If significant energy savings are found, Raleigh will convert permanently to LED lighting.

“We are thinking by our role of testing these products, implementing those products and then publicizing the successful tests, we can help not just our community, but communities throughout the country to a better job with energy conservation,” Meeker said.

Although the LED fixtures are more expensive to install, they require less maintenance. City leaders said the lights could help make the decks safer by providing brighter lighting. They could also help the city reduce its environmental impact.

“The use of LED lighting will assist in addressing our natio’ns energy challenges and helping Raleigh and other cities develop energy-efficient infrastructure in the future,” said Cree spokesman Greg Merritt.

Meeker said he believes the city could save about $80,000 a year in parking deck utility bills. Currently, the city spends more than $4 million to power street lights, but Meeker said he hopes to find significant savings by using LED lights there as well.


10 Comments


Golo

Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.

You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.

View Comments View Comments

Photo Spotlight
*
*
*
*
*
*
[+] more photos | submit your photos
Report It
Send us your news photos, videos, tips and story ideas.
Submit Videos Submit Photos Submit Reports
  1. County Unemployment Rates
    North Carolina jobless rates

    View an interactive map with county unemployment numbers.

  2. Drought Map
    A year of N.C. Drought Maps

    View a time lapse animation of drought conditions during the last year.

  3. Twitter
    Follow WRAL News on Twitter

    Keep up with what the WRAL News team is doing on air and online with Twitter.

  4. taxes
    Search for missing IRS refunds

    The Internal Revenue Service released the names this week of more than 100,000 taxpayers who have not received their 2009 income tax refund.

  5. Gov. Mike Easley
    Easley investigation timeline

    View an interactive timeline of the Easley investigation.

Click Here