Missouri City is about to begin a pilot study that involves using more energy efficient, improved streetlights throughout neighborhoods in the city.
City council authorized the study with CenterPoint Energy during this week's regular meeting. The city will be looking at replacing existing incandescent streetlights with light emitting diodes, commonly known as LEDs.
City officials said the LED streetlights may be more economical in the long run and reduce the city's electricity costs. Current studies show the LED traffic lights used by Missouri City and other communities throughout Fort Bend County are brighter, last about 14 times longer than traditional lights and save energy. Those advantages were among the reasons to study the switch, Public Works Director Scott Elmer told the council.
In his presentation, Elmer said that the replacements will begin in two of Missouri City's older neighborhoods.
"We would like to start replacing about 170 street lamps in the Fondren Park and Fonmeadow subdivisions," Elmer said. "After the initial results of the study, we intend to provide the LED lighting for the residential street lamps that are 6000 lumens of less. This represented by 2,443 or 75 percent of the streetlights in use in Missouri City neighborhoods."
The lumen classification is a measurement of light.
LEDs provide directional light, which increases the visibility of the roadway for both pedestrians and motorists "and they are virtually maintenance free," Elmer added. He also said that some of the other benefits of LED streetlights are that they can be retrofitted into existing light poles, are eco-friendly and save money.
Elmer pointed out that LED streetlights presently in use in several U.S. cities have yielded impressive cost savings, including a $49,000 annual savings in Ann Arbor, Mich. That city replaced 1,000 LED streetlights and anticipates a 3.8 year payback through savings and maintenance costs.
Elmer said Missouri City pays an average of $90,721 per month to power streetlights. The projected savings by switching to LEDs is $12,262 per month if all the 6,000-lumen lights are replaced.
The results of the pilot study will more accurately show the cost savings as well as the payback period, Elmer noted.
Negotiations between Missouri City and CenterPoint Energy for conducting the study are in the initial stages.
