Signify is supporting Somerset County Council in upgrading its street lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting across Minehead, Street, and Taunton.
The project is part of a comprehensive development plan that puts Somerset on a trajectory to carbon neutrality by 2030. The retrofit also ensures a greater longevity for the county’s traditional lanterns, allowing Somerset to stay true to its cultural heritage. The project is carried out with the support of the Council’s Term Maintenance Contractor, ENERVEO.
Somerset’s towns and city are currently lit by a combination of conventional and LED street lighting. Signify will upgrade approximately 20,000 remaining conventional light points with products from its Philips TrueForce LED range. Through the first phase of the program in 2022, the Council estimates a saving of £160k per year (based on the revised 2022 rates) in energy costs and a full return on investment within the first 18 months of installation. In 2023, a second phase, which will see additional districts added to the programme, will further reduce energy expenditure and slash carbon emissions.
Somerset has been on its path to carbon neutrality since 2020, but skyrocketing energy prices and the need for safer streets for pedestrian and highway users have raised the urgency of replacing outdated technology with alternatives that are long lasting, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. Switching from conventional streetlights to LED is a relatively quick and low-cost intervention that can cut energy consumption by up to 50%, and the effects are immediate.
Somerset County Council worked with Signify to select lighting solutions that would combine the performance of modern lighting technology while keeping to the traditional aesthetic of the area’s towns and villages. By using retrofit lamps, the county will transform traditional lanterns to reap the benefits of high-performance, energy-saving technology. This retrofit solution avoids high upfront costs, prolongs the life of traditional lanterns, and preserves the county’s historic appeal.
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