[Durham INC] Durham Installs LEDs at South Durham Water Reclamation Facility

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

 

 

 

 

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2011

 

 

Durham Installs LEDs at South Durham Water Reclamation Facility

New Lights Result in 64 Percent Energy Savings and Near-Daylight
Visibility

 

DURHAM, N.C. - Come nightfall, employees working at the City of Durham's
South Durham Water Reclamation Facility now have near-daylight
brightness with a significantly reduced cost to their energy bill,
thanks to the recent installation of energy-efficient exterior LED
lighting.

 

The project, overseen by the City's General Services Department,
installed 48 Beta LED lights on 18 poles in the processing area and at
the front gate, resulting in vastly improved visibility at night along
with a 64 percent energy savings. Though the LED lights are brighter,
they actually reduce light pollution because the light is more focused
toward the areas where it is needed the most. The LEDs replaced
high-pressure sodium lights, which used more electricity to operate and
cast a yellowish hue, making night work more difficult for staff. 

 

In May 2010, the City of Durham joined the Cree LED City(r) program, an
international initiative that promotes the deployment of
energy-efficient LED lighting. As part of this program, the City's
General Services Department selected energy-efficient LED lighting as
part of the City's overall effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

 

According to Joel Reitzer, director of the City's General Services
Department, this project is one of many focused on reducing energy use
and costs for Durham. "This lighting project was part of an overall
effort by General Services, Community Development, Water Management, and
the City-County Sustainability Office to reduce energy use for the
City," Reitzer said. "We're really pleased with the results, since not
only is visibility greatly improved at this facility to near-daylight
results, but the City is spending less money on operating these new
lights. It really is a 'win-win' for the City's bottom line and,
ultimately, Durham's environment."

 

According to Reitzer, this lighting project is not the first for the
City or the only energy-saving project completed by his department.
"General Services has also used LED fixtures on other projects, such as
the Corcoran Street Garage, the Church Street Garage, and the Centre
Garage," Reitzer said. "In 2009, we adopted the City's first City-wide
Energy Policy, and this year, we have worked on a number of other
energy-related projects, including the installation of solar hot water
systems at several City fire stations, the development of a Performance
Contract aimed at implementing energy-saving measures at nine major City
facilities, and various lighting replacement projects like the one at
the South Durham Water Reclamation Facility. We're in the planning
stages now for installing LED lighting at the City's North Durham Water
Reclamation Facility." 

 

All of these projects and initiatives support the Durham Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Reduction Plan, which sets the goal of reducing emissions from
local government by 50 percent and the community by 30 percent below
2005 levels by 2030. "At the end of the day, using LED lighting is not
only going to save us in operating costs, but it's also going to prevent
greenhouse gas emissions from power generation, getting us closer to
meeting our 50 percent reduction goal by 2030," Reitzer said.

 

This $106,000 lighting project was funded with U.S. Department of
Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program funded
by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), with design work
beginning in November 2010 and installation completed in April 2011.
Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. was the electrical design firm and
Moonlite Electric & Construction, Inc. was the contractor that installed
the new LED lighting.  

 

To learn more about Durham's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and other energy conservation related stimulus projects, visit the
Durham City-County Sustainability Office website at 
www.GreenerDurham.net.

 

For more information about this lighting project contact Donna Maskill,
PE, construction project manager with the City's General Services
Department, at (919) 560-4197, ext. 21228 or via e-mail at 
Donna.Maskill at DurhamNC.gov. 

 

About the City's General Services Department

The City of Durham's General Services Department provides timely, cost
effective, and high-quality services in eight core business functions:
Administration, Cemeteries, Facilities Operations, Landscape Services,
Project Management, Real Estate, Surplus Property, and Urban Forestry.
For more information, visit www.DurhamNC.gov/Departments/General.

 

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