LED Lighting in Raleigh’s Municipal Deck

July, 03, 2007 , by Barden

Global warming is sure to be the new buzzword for the twenty-first century, and with our national leaders having the same success of getting themselves out of bed with the oil industry as a common guest on trash talk shows, the task of conservation and responsible energy consumption has fallen to the persons in charge at the municipal level. Mayor Charles Meeker and the Raleigh City Council are no exception.

In February of this year, Meeker announced that Raleigh would become the first “LED City”, serving as a laboratory for the use of Light Emitting Diodes or LED’s in all municipal lighting. The pilot program was to replace the light fixtures on one level of a downtown parking deck. The test proved successful and the city was able to not only improve the quality of lighting in the deck, but also cut energy use, save money and do something to improve the environment.

The city partnered with Cree, Inc. out of RTP, and the Lighting Science Group Corporation to make the test floor possible.

“The economic benefits for municipalities to invest in LED’s are clear – they save energy, reduce environmental impact and improve the quality of light. As leaders in one of America’s fastest growing cities, it’s our civic responsibility to invest in the future and ensure the highest possible quality of life and safety for our citizens in generations to come,” stated Meeker.

He’s right.

Leaving the science to more scholarly people, the use of these lights on a single floor of the municipal parking deck means a 40% drop in energy usage according to Progress Energy.

And check out the comparison between the two lighting systems (Photos taken from CREE, Inc.)

Before

After

I can sure tell you which one looks safer to me!

So next time you’re thinking about heading downtown for the night, but then complain because there’s no decent parking, check out the first level of the Municipal Deck at the corner of Morgan and Dawson. Did I mention it’s free?