October 6, 2009

Changes to Charlottesville's street lights could save energy and benefit drivers.

It's out with the old and in with the new. Crews blocked off a portion of McIntire Road Tuesday morning to install two new LED, environmentally-friendly street lights.

The new lights are part of the smart grid Charlottesville program launched back in June '09.

The lights are supposed to save energy and, eventually, money. But it's not just the environment that will benefit from the new $800 a piece street lights.

Dominion officials say the lights will be better for road and foot traffic.

"The light that's placed on the road will have less dark and light spots. It's for people who are walking down the sidewalk and drivers. They should see a better uniformity of light on the road way," says Graham Cecil, a Dominion Engineer Representative.

So far, Dominion Power has only installed two out of the ten lights in Charlottesville.

The new LED lights will be evaluated periodically over the next few years to see exactly how much energy they're saving.

Although they cost more than the old lights, they're designed to last 15-17 years longer than the traditional street lights.