New LED street lights on 53rd avenue
Last week, all existing traditional street lights were replaced with energy-efficient LED lights on 53rd Avenue from Lackawanna street to Edgewood Road.
For several months, the City has been working with Pepco to replace all 150 WATT High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) fixtures on 54rd Avenue with 150 WATT LED fixtures and adding an additional 150 WATT LEDs fixtures on all the utility poles that currently have no streetlight fixture. A total of 42 new 150 Watt LED fixtures were installed as part of this project.
LEDs are up to 50 percent more energy efficient than traditional sodium bulbs and can last 15 to 20 years. And there are other unexpected benefits. Better street lighting could potentially make riding public transportation easier by reducing the perception of danger, as well as improving visibility on roads. If any of these lights malfunctions or gets damaged, it may be fixed by a lighting repair services contractor.
That means more LED street lights can lead to better public safety!
Other local areas in the DMV region including Montgomery County and Takoma Park in Maryland and Fairfax County and Arlington in Virginia, have tested the technology. D.C. is hoping to convert all 75,000 of its warm, yellow streetlights to cheaper, more energy-efficient LED bulbs by 2022.
Traditional (left) and LED (right) street lights on a D.C street
Last year the City installed 16 new 150 WATT LED streetlight fixtures along Rhode Island Avenue, in Old Town, between Campus Drive and Calvert Road. The new LED streetlight fixtures on 53rd Avenue are the same as the ones installed in Old Town. The Old Town project took about 2 years to complete from start to finish.
The City is working with Pepco to replace traditional lights with LED lights on the city streets.
I want to thank our City engineer and Public Works staff for their important work on this project!