city of edmonton street lighting initiatives · a city of edmonton and epcor technologies pilot...

ILLUMINATING NEIGHBORHOODS

A City of Edmonton and

EPCOR Technologies Pilot Project in LED

Implementation

Vlado Cicovski P.Eng.

Senior Street Light Engineer

City of Edmonton

780-423-7470

Vlado.cicovski@edmonton.ca

David Hoeksema, P.Eng.

Manager, Engineering

EPCOR Technologies Inc.

780-412-7992

dhoeksema@epcor.com

Introduction

• The City of Edmonton operated 98,000 HID streetlights.

• These consumed nearly 73,800 MWh of energy per year.

• Annual maintenance costs were approximately $9.4 Million.

• The City needed to reduce maintenance and energy costs while advancing Edmonton’s conservation culture.

• Reduced light pollution, improved safety and leading with innovation were mandated.

A New Technology…

• Life up to 100,000 hours.

• Reduced consumption up to 70%.

• Adaptable controls.

• Flat lens design to reduce light pollution.

• Improved efficiency in colder temperatures.

• In 2006 the City of Edmonton completed the conversion of 17,000 traffic lights to LED.

• The application was highly successful.

• The City was ready to further test this new technology…

THE POTENTIAL THE FIRST STEP

The Move To Study

• In 2009 the application of LED for street lighting was still unproven.

The Question

• EPCOR Technologies commissioned to evaluate LED street lighting feasibility.

The Contractor • Five manufacturers

are chosen to pilot their roadway capable LED luminaire in various neighborhoods.

The Pilot

Methodology

• Pre-existing pole spacing was maintained.

• Installed five of each manufacturer’s luminaire side by side.

• Used a 100W HPS Lumec Helios as the reference point.

• Pilot areas covered a minimum of one residential block.

• Tested on ease of installation, illumination performance, energy consumption and cost.

Pilot Study

• Lighting simulations were modeled for efficacy using AGi32 software.

• Modeled with both standard and manufacturers level of depreciation.

• The two simulations provided similar results.

• Top ranked luminaire produced 67% greater luminance.

Lighting Performance

Pilot Study

INSTALL

• Looked at leveling, terminals, overhead wiring access, construction and handling.

• Of five tested only one proved difficult.

ENERGY

• Bottom ranked consumed 60% more energy.

COST

• Highest payback at 25 years.

• Lowest payback at 12 years.

Pilot Study

• 10 year all inclusive material warranty

• Industry standard 3rd party testing reports

• Surge protection requirements of 10kV

• LLF for ambient nighttime annual temp of 2.6°C

Specifications were built to remove as much risk as possible

from the customer.

Requirements included…

Luminaires meeting these specifications were pre-qualified

The City of Edmonton’s Environmental

Strategic Plan

The Way We Green

• It sets out principles, goals, objectives and strategic actions and

approaches for Edmonton to live in balance with nature.

• Some of the goals:

– Edmonton’s communities are full of nature — a place where in

the course of everyday life, residents experience a strong

connection with nature.

– Edmonton’s sources and uses of energy are sustainable.

• Resource: http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/TheWayWeGreen-

approved.pdf

The City of Edmonton’s Environmental

Strategic Plan

Edmonton’s Environmental Management System

• This policy establishes the ISO 14001, the international standard, as

the benchmark for a corporate Environmental Management System

(EMS). Standard Environmental Management System practices

across the City will address environmental regulatory compliance,

pollution prevention and continual improvement.

• Resource: http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/C505.pdf

Neighbourhood Renewal

• The Neighbourhood Renewal program is part of the Building Great

Neighbourhoods initiative which outlines a cost effective, long-term

plan to address the needs of Edmonton’s neighbourhoods. The

program involves the renewal and rebuilding of roads, sidewalks and

streetlights in existing neighbourhoods and collector roadways

balancing the rebuild need in some neighbourhoods with a

preventative maintenance approach in others.

• Resource:

http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/on_your_streets/neighbourhood-

renewal.aspx

http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/C564.pdf

LED Street and Area Lighting Luminaires

• Deciding factors

• Luminaire location

• Pedestrian volumes

• Night over day collision ratios

• Luminaire wattage

• Lumen output over time

• Luminaire light distribution

• Walkway location sample

• Up to date 13000 luminaires are replaced with LED’s

Street lighting in Neighbourhood

Renewals • Comparison before and after the conversion

HPS

LED

Walkway HPS

Walkway LED

HPS ---Alley

lighting?

Walkway LED

Local road HPS

Local road LED

Local road HPS

Local road LED

Collector HPS

Collector LED

Collector HPS

Collector LED

Walkway HPS

Walkway LED

Arterial LED

2011

• 2 neighborhoods reconstructed, 300 luminaires installed.

• 23 neighborhoods added due to initial success.

2012

• LED lighting reconstruction in 6 new neighborhoods.

• By Q3 the first arterial road was retrofitted.

TOTAL

• 31 neighborhood retrofits complete.

• Approximately 13,000 LED luminaires installed.

Implementation Schedule

Schedule

Installations were

located in

neighborhoods

throughout the

City of Edmonton

and chosen based

on their priority in

the Neighborhood

Renewal

Program.

Design Considerations

• Maintain current lighting levels.

• Address over and under lit areas.

• Re-design for high night time collision locations.

• Identify pole and luminaire style requirements for heritage neighborhoods.

For

Neighborhoods

• Host open houses for Q&A prior to install.

• Notify residents of install date.

• Anticipate some initial discomfort with “White” light.

For

Residents

Implementation

KICK-OFF

• Understood as-built legends up front.

• Surveyed for conformity in pole base size.

• Surveyed for pole and base condition.

INSTALL

• Local staging facilities.

• Pre-wiring in-house.

• Crews were able to work in winter downtime due to lack of underground construction.

Results

Lower Maintenance

Improved Visibility &

Safety

Reduced Energy

Consumption ~ 44%

Lessons Learned

PRODUCT

• Know your asset base - non-standard bases require modifications to new pole flange or install of a new base.

• Older neighborhoods saw more modifications of pole bases.

• Ensure new upgrades meet new Canadian Electrical Code.

• LED color temperature allowed a lower wattage than anticipated still meeting historical lighting levels.

Lessons Learned

INSTALL

• Stage locally and group retrofit by neighborhood when possible.

• Redesign light distribution type for poles close to corner lots.

• Survey base condition and size in older neighborhoods.

• Record out of box failures for warranty coverage.

• Define failure with the manufacturer.

• Ensure retrofits are logged closely in order to calculate immediate energy savings.

Resident Feedback What they liked…

Happy with color

temperature

Perception of

improved safety

Feel visibility

is improved

Better

target

recognition

No immediate

failures

The majority of feedback

was enthusiastically

positive!

Improved

illumination on

pedestrian

walkways

Resident Feedback What they didn’t like…

Some found the light

too “White”

Some pedestrian

walkways

seemed under lit

Only a fraction of

feedback received was

critical…

Corner lots had

minor glare

issues that

were corrected Disappointed to

lose light trespass

Dimming LED

• Pilot Projects – adaptive lighting

– Residential area

– Walkway

– Arterial road

LECP

• Light Efficient Community Policy

Questions ?

References:

www.edmonton.ca

www.epcor.com/technologies

David Hoeksema, P.Eng.

Manager, Engineering

EPCOR Technologies Inc.

780 412-7992

dhoeksema@epcor.com

Vlado Cicovski P.Eng.

Senior Street Light Engineer

City of Edmonton

780 423-7470

vlado.cicovski@edmonton.ca