Landscape Architect & Specifier News

APR 2013

LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.

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Information Request # 762 Pilot Project in Washington State Retrofts with LEDs to Save Energy, Money Washington state is replacing some outdated highway lighting on US 101 with LEDs, joining California and Massachusetts in initiatives to save thousands in energy and maintenance costs. Drivers should notice a significant change, as the LEDs produce a whiter, brighter light than the previous high-pressure sodium highway lights. Lighting crews can even remotely adjust the light levels to suit the traffic levels. As part of its sustainability efforts, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has begun installing the state���s first light emitting diode (LED) highway lights in an effort to cut energy use and infrastructure costs. ���Over the next 22 months we will look at how the lights function and analyze the cost savings at this location,��� explained WSDOT traffic engineer John Nisbet. ���That information will help us build a plan for more LEDs across the state. We have close to 60,000 lights on the state highway system; more LEDs could translate into significant energy and cost savings.��� The new lighting has been installed on US 101, just west of Olympia at the Black Lake Boulevard interchange. WSDOT had full operation of the new lighting system by the end of February. The new LED lighting should last about 15 years, and save about $75,000 in maintenance and operating costs. The change from the previous highpressure-sodium (HPS) highway lights to LEDs allows WSDOT to remotely adjust light levels and turn off individual lights when traffic decreases, which is possible because the LEDs are producing brighter lighting than the old HPS lighting. California Department of Transportation is also using the LED technology. It has installed 40,000 LED street lights to replace the older technology over the last two years, saving about $2 million each of the last two years in highway lighting energy costs. Information Request # 613 94 Landscape Architect and Specifier News

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