LED Traffic Lighting

Safety that's efficient and affordable

Lower your energy bills and maintenance costs with high-efficiency traffic safety lighting. Advanced light-emitting diode (LED) technology and patented optical lensing nearly double lighting efficiency.

LED pedestrian signals, traffic signals and arrows can reduce power consumption by 90 percent and last ten times longer than incandescent lighting. Most types meet EPA ENERGY STAR® standards.

Because hard-coated lenses resist abrasion and textured lenses reduce glare, LED lights are more visible to pedestrians and motorists, which increases safety.

Traffic signals may not seem like big energy consumers, but when they blink on and off, 24 hours a day, a typical city or county can incur considerable costs just to keep traffic flowing safely and smoothly.

The City of Decorah, located in northeast Iowa, has taken steps to cut those costs. It fitted all of its downtown traffic signals with lamps built on light-emitting diode (LED) technology to increase efficiency.

“LED lights use just 10 percent of the electricity that incandescent lamps use,” notes Steve Shupp, Alliant Energy account manager for Decorah. “They also dramatically lower maintenance costs and, because of greater brightness, improve safety,” he adds.

The purchase cost of LED lamps is higher than that of older incandescent lamps. However, using Alliant Energy's Performance Edge™ program, energy-efficient improvements can be made without an up-front capital investment. The LED lights are then paid for from actual energy savings and other quantifiable non-energy savings.

“It was an easy decision to make once we went over the Performance Edge program details, especially considering the safety enhancements and energy savings,” says Jerry Freund, Decorah city manager.

The project will save the city an estimated 130,352 kWh, annually. “The city will also benefit from non-energy savings of reduced maintenance costs,” adds Shupp.

Freund says, “Shupp was very helpful in answering questions and assisting with the order and shipment of the lights.”

“The Performance Edge program is very fair. It guarantees energy efficiency and includes an incomparable financial plan,” says Freund. “The decision was simple and straight-forward.”

In addition to the kWh savings, the new LED lighting will impact the environment positively by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 257,050 pounds per year.

City driving is even safer these days - and nights - for residents in Fond du Lac, Wis., thanks to upgraded traffic signals at 80 locations throughout the city.

The upgrade involved replacing the incandescent lamps used in traffic signals, including the walk/don't walk signals, with energy-efficient light-emitting diode [LED] lamps.

The project was made possible through Alliant Energy's Shared Savings™ program, which provided the capital needed to fund the project.

“It was a perfect opportunity for the city to add an important safety measure to our community's traffic signals,” said Mark Lentz, Fond du Lac director of public works.

The upgraded signals are more visible during the day, especially on sunny days. Increased visibility, combined with improved performance, will lower the risk of traffic accidents.

“The LED lamps use 90 percent less energy than incandescent lamps,” Freund explained, “and can last up to ten years, compared to less than two years for standard incandescents.”

The longer life helps lower maintenance costs, reduce lamp replacement inventory requirements and lower energy costs. The city expects to realize significant annual energy cost savings as a result of this project.

“Because Alliant Energy's Shared Savings program provided the capital, we were able to get this project underway,” said Lentz. “Tight budgets present challenges for the city, and without this upfront funding it's unlikely we would have been able to pursue the upgrades.”