Blog

If you find yourself out and about in Leicestershire, you may have noticed engineers working on the streetlights. This huge task to replace the bulbs has been underway for around two years, and is nearly complete.

Leicestershire County Council has spent approximately £25 million replacing the existing sodium bulbs in streetlights and replacing them with brand new energy-saving LED bulbs. Why? Because of the amazing benefits of LED bulbs, that’s why!

Saving With LEDs

By switching to LED lighting, the authority is said to save up to £2 million every single year. The scheme has already seen 4,450 tonnes slashed from the carbon footprint.

The change to LED lighting will see 68,000 streetlights upgraded to LED lighting, which will all be controlled remotely from a central management system. The lights that are switched off to save energy can therefore easily be turned back on in case of emergency.

The switch will slash the annual energy usage from approximately 26.9 million kwh to around 10.98 million kwh, a massive reduction of approximately 60%! This will lead to a carbon footprint that’s down 5,600 tonnes every year.

More Fantastic Benefits of LEDs

Some of the major benefits that the LEDs will bring to the new streetlights include:

• Energy-efficiency. The LEDs obviously use around 60% of the energy that the previous streetlights used, meaning less environmental damage, and lots of savings for the council.
• These LEDs are dimmable. This means that some LEDs won’t even need to be switched off at night, just dimmed, meaning they can balance brightness with visibility better.
• These LEDs will last for approximately twenty years, dwarfing the previous streetlight bulb’s life expectancy of just 4 or 5 years. This means far less money spent on maintenance.
• Health. LEDs are better for your health because they deliver a much better quality light, effectively mimicking natural light. So much so that they are high on the Colour Rendering Index, and promote a healthy and regular circadian rhythm.
• LEDs don’t flicker or hum. This makes them brilliant for street lighting where flickering can be a distraction for drivers at night.

However, it’s not just streetlights that can feel the huge advantages that LEDs bring. Treat your home to some of our LED lighting and slash your lighting bills by up to 90%!

For any questions you may have about LED lighting in general, please get in touch with our friendly customer services team. Call us on 0116 321 4120, email us at cs@wled.co.uk, or have a look at our Facebook and Twitter.