Council signals €12m savings on bulbs

UP TO €12 million could be saved if energy-saving bulbs were installed in the State’s 15,000 traffic lights, according to a Dublin City Council report.

Low energy LED (light emitting diode) lights have become standard throughout Europe, the report from the council’s traffic department said, but most traffic lights in the State were still using old-fashioned incandescent bulbs.

It said while the new bulbs were about three times more expensive they provided significant advantages in terms of energy saving, maintenance, carbon emissions, safety and life-time costs.

The LED lights consume 73 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs, using 15 watts of power as opposed to 55 watts. The old lights have to be changed every six months as a precaution against “bulb failure” while the average life for a LED bulb is 10 years.

Junction safety is also improved by the use of LED bulbs as the phenomenon of “phantom lights” is eliminated. With standard bulbs sunlight striking the light head can give the impression that the signal is lit. The LEDs have “optical diffusion” properties which eliminate the appearance of the phantom image.

The city council has already switched more than 6,000 of its 7,000 traffic lights to LEDs but said it needed €2.5 million more to complete the process which was not within its current means. Converting all 7,000 lights would save €5.6 million over the 10-year life of the bulbs, and to extend the programme to all traffic lights in the State would save up to €12 million.

The council sought funding from the National Transport Authority to convert its remaining traffic signals to LEDs but was refused. However, when old lights require replacement, the council would install LED bulbs from its own resources, it said.