The City of Santa Rosa, in partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has installed a street light technology demonstration.  Three types of energy efficient street lights; LED, Inductive and High Pressure Sodium are on display at the intersection of Apollo Way and Mercury Way.  The project showcases the look and performance of energy efficient street lights, and will allow municipalities and businesses to better evaluate and compare these technologies in the field.

Each leg of this T-shaped intersection features a different type of street light technology.  The demonstration project will help the City of Santa Rosa compare energy consumption, ease and cost of retrofit, illumination levels, and community acceptance.

The City of Santa Rosa currently uses three main types of lights: lantern style, globe style decorative and cobra-head highway-style lighting.  At present these fixtures are equipped with High Pressure Sodium (HPS) bulbs.  Technology in the lighting industry is evolving.  Given the promise of reduced costs that flows from changes in the industry, we believe we have an obligation to the public to examine new products as they emerge.

Types of Lighting Being Tested

Inductive - Induction lamps are high frequency (HF) light sources, which follow the same basic principles of converting electrical power into visible radiation as conventional fluorescent lamps. The life of induction lamps on the market today reaches 100,000 hours. This makes it beneficial to use such lamps in applications where lamp maintenance is expensive. They cost significantly less than LED lights and are capable of producing a wide range of color and they maintain lumen (light) output over their life.

LED (light-emitting diodes) – Currently all of the City’s traffic signals are equipped with LED lights.  Over the past few years, we have replaced our traffic signal incandescent lamps with LED lamps, resulting in significant energy savings.  LED’s cost significantly more upfront than the high pressure sodium bulbs.  LED lights use less energy and last longer than conventional bulbs, which could result in savings on energy and maintenance costs over time.  LED light produce a whiter type of light, and do not contain mercury.

High Pressure Sodium (HPS) – Currently all the City street light are equipped with High Pressure Sodium lamps.  They are energy efficient—consuming about 125 watts of power and affordable in cost. HPS lights are used widely for outdoor lighting; many cities are illuminated with high pressure sodium bulbs.  These bulbs do contain a small amount of mercury.  HPS lamps cost significantly less than both LED and Inductive lamps.