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City of Racine, Wisconsin

Product

• LEDway Streetlights with 40 LED, Type II medium optics, 525mA, UL Listed 6000K for collector/residential roadways.
• LEDway Streetlights with 60 LED, Type II medium optics, 525mA, UL Listed 6000K for arterial roadways.

Benefits

• LED streetlights installed in Racine provide at least three times the life of traditional HPS streetlights and up to 20 % energy savings.
• The City of Racine was awarded funds through the Department of Energy’s Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) to convert traditional streetlight systems to sustainable LED technology.
• The standard horizontal tenon mount allowed the city to easily install each LEDway streetlight in a manner of minutes into the existing mounting structures.
• Patented NanoOptic™ refractor within each LEDway streetlight distributes light precisely for improved target illumination performance with significant reductions in light pollution, compared to the pre-existing HPS solution.
• A portion of LEDway streetlights use non-networked controls, such as a photocell, to further enhance energy savings.
• LEDway streetlights are mounted at a height of 23 feet to 28 feet.

City of Racine Upgrades Provide Green Incentives
Quality of Life and Cost Savings Propel Conversion to LED streetlights

In an effort to improve the quality of life for citizens while saving money, the City of Racine, Wisconsin is working to convert all current high-pressure sodium lights to LED streetlights.  Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, the city can make strategic investments towards yearly energy cost savings. 

Using a progressive approach, Racine became the first city in the State of Wisconsin to install LED technology noting the many benefits they would bring.  “We have a very limited capital budget.  Our primary motivation to install LED streetlights was to reduce cost and we are reaping the savings every time we install an LED fixture. Its great,” stated John Rooney, City of Racine’s assistant commissioner of public works/engineering.

Racine also is striving to provide a better life for its citizens through the updated LED lighting.  Through the cost savings provided from the installations, the city estimates it will save nearly $44,000 annually that it spends on current high-pressure sodium fixtures – to go right back into the city coffers for other needed projects. 

City officials have also noted the benefits of LED streetlights when it comes to better visibility of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. “LEDway Streetlights are a big improvement over the old cobra heads. The light is distributed more accurately and creates a better contrast so colors and objects are easier to identify,” says Rooney.

“If we have received 20 comments about the LED lights, only two of them are those with concerns,” said Tom Eeg, City of Racine Assistant Commissioner of Public Works/Operations, “It is important that we educate our residents about this technology and what value they can expect to see by our LED installation efforts.”

By being the first city in the state to introduce LED technology, Racine has not only demonstrated a creative approach to saving costs but a commitment to the quality of life for residents.