Recently, Everett traffic engineers got the green light to replace every green light in the city. City street crews will soon swap out incandescent green light bulbs at 169 traffic signals and replace them with more energy-efficient light emitting diodes, or LEDs.
LEDs are used in electronic devices such as cell phones, digital alarm clocks and even the crystal ball that descends on New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve. In addition to green lights, the city also plans to install LED lights in pedestrian signals this year.
According to an energy audit conducted by Snohomish County PUD, the city is expected to make up its initial investment within two years because of reduced electricity bills. The utility is paying for more than half of the $433,000 replacement project, while the LED arrays cost about $50 each, as opposed to $2.50 for incandescent lamps, they should last seven to 10 years, compared with one to two years for incandescent lights. Also, the new lights consume about one-tenth the energy of the old. That's expected to result in energy savings next year of about $112,000 -- $62,000 for the green lights and $50,000 for the pedestrian signals.
LED red lights were installed in Everett about a decade ago. Earlier this decade, the city began requiring that all new traffic signals be equipped with LED arrays. now the city may consider replacing yellow lights at some point, because they are used less often than red and green lights, not as high a priority.
It's eliminated the use of space heaters, installed motion sensors on lights that turn off automatically, and added more energy-efficient lighting in the Wall Street Building, the police headquarters and the library. Bothell, Lynnwood and Edmonds have also received PUD subsidies for installing LED traffic signals.
