Cornwall Council has begun a pioneering streetlighting Invest to Save Project This project will result in Cornwall being a leader in carbon reduction, cutting our emissions and becoming a leader in street lighting management The project involves the replacement of street lighting lamps throughout the county with a new lamp technology and control system which will allow the following: • The ability to vary light levels based on traffic usage • The ability to switch lights on and off at any desired time • The capacity to monitor the exact energy consumption of the units The new technology uses a white light source known as the “Cosmopolis” lamp. This lamp has three main benefits over the equipment it is replacing. 1. Improved optical control to reduce unwanted spill light into the atmosphere 2. Improved ability to see colours due to the lamp emitting a more natural colour of light. 3. Reduced energy consumption as lower wattage lamps can be used. The use of white light enables the human eye to be more responsive, therefore, less light is required. The project has only become possible with advances in lamp and control gear technology. It is expected that by the end of the County Wide installation programme, energy savings of up to 60% may be achieved. With the combined pressures of rising energy prices and the need to reduce emissions to prevent the effects of climate change, it is estimated that the project could save up to 4,700 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere annually, whilst still providing a valuable service. Partnering with Devon & Cornwall Constabulary and The University of Cambridge, a research project is being carried out to ensure that the project has a positive impact on the County in terms of Crime and Disorder, and road safety issues. So what does this mean? Lighting contractors will visit your area and replace the lighting units, either complete or in part and you will notice a change in the colour of the street scene at night. There will also be consultation following the installation through local councils to determine the appropriate lighting regime for your area. Contact us: www.cornwall.gov.uk Cornwall Council: 0300 1234 222 Some queries you may have about the project are answered overleaf. Street lighting in Newquay
Transcript
Cornwall Council has begun a pioneering streetlighting Invest to Save Project
This project will result in Cornwall being a leader in carbon reduction, cutting our emissions and becoming a leader in street lighting management
The project involves the replacement of street lighting lamps throughout the county with a new lamp technology and control system which will allow the following:
• Theabilitytoswitchlightsonandoffat any desired time
• Thecapacitytomonitortheexactenergy consumption of the units
The new technology uses a white light source known as the “Cosmopolis” lamp. This lamp has three main benefits over the equipment it is replacing.
1. Improved optical control to reduce unwanted spill light into the atmosphere
2. Improved ability to see colours due to the lamp emitting a more natural colour of light.
3. Reduced energy consumption as lower wattage lamps can be used. The use of white light enables the human eye to be more responsive, therefore, less light is required.
The project has only become possible with advances in lamp and control gear technology.Itisexpectedthatbytheend of the County Wide installation programme, energy savings of up to 60% may be achieved.
With the combined pressures of rising energy prices and the need to reduce emissionstopreventtheeffectsofclimate change, it is estimated that the project could save up to 4,700 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere annually, whilst still providing a valuable service.
Partnering with Devon & Cornwall Constabulary and The University of Cambridge, a research project is being carried out to ensure that the project has a positive impact on the County in terms of Crime and Disorder, and road safety issues.
So what does this mean?Lighting contractors will visit your area and replace the lighting units, either complete or in part and you will notice a change in the colour of the street scene at night. There will also be consultation following the installation through local councils to determine the appropriate lighting regime for your area.
Some queries you may have about the project are answered overleaf. Street lighting in Newquay
New street lighting for Cornwall
Questions Answers
Why does Cornwall Council provide street lighting?
The provision of street lighting has many community benefits, including the prevention of night time road accidents, the provision of a safe environment for both car drivers and pedestrians, assisting in the reduction of street crime and the fear of crime and contributing to the local night time economy. There is no over-riding duty on an authority, as the Highway Authority, to provide or keep street lighting systems lit to prevent crime.
Why are the street lights being replaced in my area?
Cornwall Council has embarked on an Invest to Save initiative, to replace all Cornwall Council maintained street lights with a new technology which allows improved control and maintenance of the equipment, improved nighttimeoperation,reducedenergyconsumption,andflexibilityinswitching. The aim of the project is to provide a mechanism to save up to 60% of the energy currently consumed by the County Streetlighting stock
What is the electrical consumption of the street lighting and its carbon emission footprint?
Like household electricity bills, energy is paid by the kilowatt hour and the annual consumption figure for the operation of 45,000 street lights maintained by the County Council is 18.5 Gigawatt hours (equivalent to a small factory) which relates to an annual CO2 foot print of 7,929 tonnes.The 18.5 Giga watts stated above equates to the household consumption of approximately3,600homesoutofthe215,000totalhouseholdsinCornwall.(source: Energy – CCC electricity accounts; Homes - www.matthewtaylor.info;)
A contractor has carried out works on the streetlights in my area, and since then they have been on all day. Why is this?
As part of the Cornwall Council Invest to Save programme, wireless equipment to control the new street lights has been installed. This equipment takes a little time to be configured to overcome any communicationproblemsinthearealocaltothelights,duetoforexample,tallbuildings,trees,topographyorotherobstaclesaffectingthesignal.Untilthe streetlights receive signal they will remain on.
The streetlights are on all the time. Will this costusastaxpayersonthe Council’s electricity bill?
We are working to prevent the streetlights from being on all day. They do notmakeanydifferencetotheelectricitybillasCornwallCouncilpaysanagreed rate to it’s energy supplier. The change over to the new technology means that some lights will operate all of the time until synchronised with the control system. We are fully aware of the use of electricity and are working to keep this to a minimum
The streetlights in my road have been replaced and now there is light shining into my bedroom window. Can anything be done?
In some circumstances, shields can be fitted to streetlights or optics can be adjusted to prevent or reduce the amount of light shining into properties. In order for the fitting of these to be arranged, you will need to provide us with your address, and the identification number (e.g. A123) of the streetlight affectingyou
The streetlights in my road have been replaced and now there are dark patches. Why is this?
The new equipment uses controlled optics. The main beam of the light is focusseddownontothegroundinanattempttomaximisetheusefullightproducedbythefitting,andminimisespilllight/lightpollution.Thetradeofffrom this occurs when lights are some distance apart, as there is a sharper cutoffoflightwhichcancreatemorenoticeabledarkpatches.
