Detroit scores $400K for LED streetlights in neighborhoods

LED streetlights are going up in six neighborhoods throughout Detroit thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Last week work crews began installing the LED streetlights on Telegraph Road from Fullerton to Eight Mile Road; Fullerton Road from Ewald Circle to Schaefer; Greenfield Road from Paul to Eight Mile Road; Hamilton, Fairway and Curtis between McNichols and Seven Mile; 14th Street from Grand Boulevard to Lawrence; and Waterman from N. Lafayette to West Vernor, Dix west of Vernor to Woodmere and Woodmere from Dix to Vernor. The project is expected to be done by June.

The 580 new energy efficient LED lights are expected to save 60 percent of the energy costs of the mercury vapor streetlights they are replacing. "They're extremely energy efficient," says Tim Shireman, grant manager for city of Detroit's LED streetlight project. "LED lighting lasts much longer and results in significant maintenance savings."

The LED streetlights should lesson the pressure on Detroit's aging electrical grid, helping prevent more brownouts during times of peak electrical usage. The LEDs will also have a more natural tint to the light, more like daylight compared to the yellow or pink tints to traditional streetlights.

"The quality of the lighting is going to stand out," Shireman says. "The mercury vapor lights spread light out everywhere, including the sky. The LED lighting is focused and directed on the street where you want it."

Source: Tim Shireman, grant manager for city of Detroit's LED streetlight project
Writer: Jon Zemke

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