Even more street lights in York will be replaced with a new ‘white light’ – providing a clearer light, which will aim to make people feel safer at night.

Over 900 new 25 watt LED lantern conversions will be installed from 15th February predominately in residential areas around York. The areas selected to receive the new lights have the highest number of 35 watt low pressure sodium lanterns (orange light) and 70 watt high pressure sodium lanterns (yellow light).

The new lighting will help make significant carbon, energy and cost savings. In addition to the new LEDs, lights will be adjusted by up to 50-60 per cent on streets between midnight and 6am when the traffic flow levels can be described as quiet helping to further reduce environmental impacts and costs. Although the level of lighting reduces this is still within current lighting level standards.

Cllr Andrew Waller (pictured), Liberal Democrat Executive Member for the Environment, said: “Fitting the 900 new LED lanterns will help to save on average 102 tonnes of carbon a year. The rollout will also help the council to save £30 a year for each new lantern, helping to save a combined £27,000. On top of these savings they offer a more directed source of light to more effectively illuminate roads at night and help with safety issues.”

The cost of the lantern and installation is estimated to be £200 each in residential areas and it is anticipated that there will be an average net energy saving per lantern of £30 each equating to a £27,000 saving per calendar year on the additional 900 new LED lanterns.

There are a number of reasons why an increasing number of council’s across the country including North Yorkshire, Worcester, Wakefield, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leicestershire, Durham, Salford, Bury and Plymouth are choosing to install LED lighting and are introducing a regime to reduce the light wattage:

• LED lighting has a lower energy consumption (offering the lowest possible running costs: less than 100 watts for the highest power units; whereas with other forms of lighting much more energy is wasted generating heat)

• Superior quality illumination (even spread of light, no dark or bright spots, better targeting especially with higher-end LED lighting products)

• Longer product life and reliability (up to 100,000 hours – in comparison fluorescent bulbs typically last 10,000 hours and incandescent bulbs 1,000; the best LED products available today deliver 10-years life, with warranty)

•No maintenance (no bulb failure, no down-time)

• Instant start (no warm up time for full light output)

• Suitable for challenging environments (higher-end products are weather-hardened, hot and cold climate tolerant, vandal resistant).