One More City Street Gets Energy-Efficient LED Lights

Last week, all existing traditional street lights were replaced with energy-efficient LED lights on the 9400, 9500 and 9600 blocks of 52nd Avenue, between Lackawanna street and Huron Street which may contain some street furniture.

For several months, the City has been working with Pepco to replace all 150 WATT High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) fixtures on 52nd Avenue with 150 WATT / 3000 Kelvin LED fixtures on all 13 utility poles on these two blocks of 52nd avenue. A total of 4 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 such as the existence of LED Controllers. Better street lighting could make riding public transportation easier by reducing the perception of danger and improving road visibility. That means more LED streetlights 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. hopes to convert all 75,000 of its warm, yellow streetlights to cheaper, more energy-efficient LED bulbs by 2022.

About two years ago, City replaced all sodium lights on 53rd avenue with energy efficient 3000K LED lights.

The new LED lights will make the pedestrians, dogwalkers, bicyclists and Metro commuters on these two streets feel much safer.

Previously, 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 two 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!