Grosse Pointe Farms

New LED lights in Farms allow city to go green — and save some green

By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — A number of city streets are going to be seen in a whole new light.

DTE Community Lighting Group will be installing about 266 new LED lights in the cobra-head streetlight fixtures this year, said city officials at a Feb. 6 City Council meeting.

The old mercury vapor lights that the city historically used are no longer being produced because of the environmental risks posed by mercury, but DTE’s new standard option — high-pressure sodium lighting — gives off a yellow glow, unlike the white glow from the mercury lights, City Manager Shane Reeside said. Because a number of people didn’t want the new “yellow” lights, Reeside said city officials had been looking for an option more in keeping with what residents are used to. The latest LED lights seem to provide that solution, giving off a white glow.

“LED has really come a long way in terms of the quality of the light,” Reeside told the council.

He said the council last year approved the first circuit conversion to LED lighting, to see if it would live up to its promise. DTE installed LEDs on Lake Shore, from Harbor Hill to Warner, and along Warner and Newberry roads, and Reeside said the response was positive. That is, when there was a response to the conversion.

“Surprisingly, a lot of people didn’t know it was different lighting,” he said.

It’s really only noticeable when someone looks up and sees the grid of LED lights, Reeside explained.

Because high-pressure sodium lighting is DTE’s standard option, there is some cost to the Farms to convert to LEDs, but Reeside noted that the more energy-efficient LEDs will quickly pay for themselves in energy savings.

The cost to operate the 212 new LED lamp heads initially approved has been calculated to be about $23,686 less per year than the mercury vapor lights, so the lights will pay for themselves in a little over three years, Reeside said. DTE just approved several additional lamp heads as well, which should lead to even greater savings for the city. Reeside said administrators just learned of the extra circuit Feb. 6; it will cover Chalfonte, from McKinley to Moross.

“I think the key is the payback,” City Council member Lev Wood said. “We’re going to be ultimately saving the residents a lot of money.”

In addition, Wood said these new lights are environmentally friendly.

Another benefit: The LED lights operate at a frequency that’s supposed to be less attractive to insects. Reeside joked that the real test will be during fishfly season.

As part of the rewiring process, he said DTE officials would be inspecting light poles to make sure they’re still structurally sound. Poles that need to be replaced will be replaced, but Reeside said most of them probably just need paint. Light pole painting is another ongoing project in the Farms.

Although existing poles will remain, the heads and wires are slated to be replaced as part of this effort, and Reeside said the old wires are what have caused the most problems in terms of streetlight outages.

“I think it’s going to resolve a lot of the lighting issues we’ve had in the community,” he said.

The project will take place over time, Reeside said. A lot of money is being invested in the community for street lighting — more than $1 million just this year, he said.

The total cost to the Farms is $113,026, but a series rebate credit of $21,200 brought that figure to $91,826.

The council unanimously approved allocating $91,826 toward the project, but a second rebate of $11,020 for energy optimization will bring the actual cost to the city down to $80,806, according to a memo from DTE Energy Community Lighting account representative Debra Cain. That memo indicated that the annual operating cost for these new lights is estimated at $62,754.

Money for the lighting upgrades is available in the roads capital improvement fund, Reeside said. As long as the weather cooperates, he said, DTE is slated to start changing the lights in early May. The work will likely take roughly six to eight weeks, Reeside said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1047.