The city of Greenville in South Carolina, a leader and innovator in urban design has launched its first energy-efficient LED streetlight program. After collaborating with Hubbell Lighting, Duke Energy and GE Lighting, the city has installed four different types of pedestrian fixtures designed by Hubbell Lighting in one city block. Cobrahead styled fixtures designed by GE Lighting will soon be installed.
The city’s economic development manager, Michael Kersky expressed the excitement of testing the latest LED roadway lighting technology in the downtown area and explained that 35 of the installed LED fixtures in the downtown region would be evaluated for visual appeal, energy efficiency, illumination and energy consumption.
In the downtown region, there are a total of 1400 mercury vapor streetlights. The challenge that lay in front of Greenville city officials was that mercury vapor fixtures that needed replacement were no longer available. North Carolina-based energy supplier, Duke Energy is making efforts to introduce LED streetlights to the city.
Kersky concluded by stating that Duke Energy would send a detailed analysis and report to Greenville city officials in 6 months after they analyze the data being transmitted by the smart fixtures. The data would include performance issues, outages and energy consumption.
To complement downtown area’s pedestrian friendly zone, the light fixtures from Hubbell will be equipped with features such as dimming capabilities and movable shades.
Duke University and the City of Greenville have been working on sustainable projects since November 2010. The LED streetlight program is the one of 3 projects currently under way in the "Greening of Greenville" project. Other programs involve:
- Reducing energy consumtion of commercial buildings via the SmartBuilding Advantage program which provides a 50/50 cost share on energy audits and customized utility incentives for building upgrades
- The etstablishment and development of an electric vehicle infrastructure
Greenville, formerly the Textile Capital of the World also adds to its green credentials the fact that General Electric has a wind turbine manufacturing plant there.