November
Local Authorities Reducing Power Of Street Lighting To Save Money
Posted by at 5:07 PM. Placed in Finance category
An article in a national newspaper told the story of how various types of council over the UK are dimming the road lighting in attempts to cut costs. The Daily Telegraph claims that one in 10 street lights are being darkened through the night or turned off altogether in a bid to save money on energy expenses. Many local authorities are getting their public spending budgets reduced in an attempt to reduce the country’s debts and as a result, the councils are now looking for ways to cut costs.
Cllr Peter Box, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Economy and Transport Board, says that in times of tough financial pressure, councils should look for ways to cut costs and save taxpayers’ money but without putting the public at risk. He promises that by doing so, it doesn’t influence frontline providers like filling up potholes, child protection and collecting bins. And if councils turned down their own pendant lighting and bathroom wall lighting in buildings, they could reduce costs even further.
It is suggested that if UK authorities switch off a mere 9% of their LED lighting they can conserve a substantial £21.5 million per year but the strategies implemented to decrease the street lighting is really costing five times more than saving and is a staggering £106.3 million, so at first it will cost more to save. The expensive schemes comprise of dimming technology being installed along with converting lights to part-night functions; nevertheless some councils won’t be able to envision a return on investment or gain any rewards for almost a decade. But if councils can cut costs, homeowners can too with their garden lighting and bathroom lighting.
Breakdown cover firm AA has distributed a notice about the proposition, declaring that things to consider must be taken on-board as lucent places are usually recommended as a protective crime measure. But the head of road safety, Andrew Howard, has stated that the dimming of wall lighting and street lights for part of the evening is a much better alternative than removing them altogether. Councils have been instructed by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety that they have to monitor traffic in the areas and have a clear reason for softening or switching off the outdoor lighting.
The number of councils across the UK thinking about the plan is growing as well as the amount of homeowners with their garden lights or kitchen lighting. Bedford Borough Council is holding a trial of temporarily switching off 83-lights between for 5 hours a night to help save £383 a year. And Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council has said it intends to dim 4,500-lights from 10pm and 6am for one year too. Furthermore, Derbyshire County Council has expressed a desire to get involved and turning off lights between midnight and 5:30am to save £400,000 a year; and Leeds City Council is also planning to power down 8,000 lights during the period of three years. Moreover, Warwickshire County Council has said it will start to begin to shut down 80% of its 48,500 street lights at the start of 2012.
Nevertheless, many authorities in cities have decided not to become immersed in the scheme with Birmingham, Manchester and most of London boroughs not changing off their tiffany lighting. Denbighshire Council in Wales has stated that the payback period is too great and Croydon Council argue that they made a decision never to dim the street lights.
Just like the councils, you can cut your energy bills too by dimming the chandeliers and wall lights. Make an effort to turn the bathroom lights and kitchen lights off when not being used to be eco-friendly and motivate the children to appreciate how costly modern lighting rates can be. Many bathroom spotlights can now be purchased that are low energy rated.
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