The province is a bit behind the times with its recent LED street lighting incentive program since all three North Shore municipalities have already made the switch in the last few years.
On July 17, the province announced the Shared Services BC program, which offers to support B.C. communities in purchasing LED street lighting. But, both the district and city of North Vancouver, and the District of West Vancouver have already started implementing LED lights into their street lamps.
LED lights last about 15 years longer than older technology, and due to their energy savings, they recover initial purchasing costs within eight years, according to the province. Energy savings can be as high as 70 per cent with the use of programmable controls.
If all 360,000 streetlights across B.C. were LED, the public would save about 105 Gigawatts per hour - or about 10,000 homes worth of power. Municipalities own about 241,000 streetlights, while the province owns 23,000. The switch would reduce about 1,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, or $35,000 per year in carbon costs. Steve Ono, manager of engineering services for the District of North Vancouver, said since 2009, the district has been bringing in LED street lights. The province's program is good news and in 2015 his department will put forward a project to council to take advantage of it, he added. More than 40 street lights on the spirit trail were the first LED project undertaken for the district, and so far no one has noticed a difference in light quality, Ono said, and lighting standards are always adhered to. But the district has not measured how much has been saved by the switch, at this point.
For the last two years, the District of West Vancouver has been converting its current
bulbs to LED ones, project to project, according to Jeff McDonald, director of communications.
McDonald said the district is aware of the program, and it's currently investigating if it could prove useful to the municipality.
The City of North Vancouver also has a LED streetlight program already in place. It most recently added LED street lights at Forbes Avenue, for the new bike lane, and at the crosswalk at 10th Street and St. Georges Avenue, according to Connie Rabold, communications manager for the city.
"Developments in the city are required to have LED lighting," she said in an email.
"Also, we will have a capital request for more LED street lighting in the 2016 budget, for implementation in 2017." According to the province, the program's benefits include: online tools, access to pre-qualified lighting consultants, and coordination with BC Hydro's Power Smart Program that gives incentive funding to assist with conversion costs. For more information about LED lighting, visit bchydro.com.
