Tucson, Ariz. (metro pop. 980,263) officials decided the city’s street illumination, low-pressure sodium luminaries, were costing them in maintenance and energy. Those officials applied for and received approximately $425,000 to upgrade to LED lighting. 

After reviewing and testing luminaries from several manufacturers, a modern style full-cutoff LED luminaire was selected. Immediately after converting to the LEDs, the city began to see the savings. Tucson has saved approximately $3,000 monthly in electricity costs and officials expect to see at least $30,000 in savings over the course of the year.

"Residents and decision makers can see the improvement in lighting in our streets," said Ernie Encinas, transportation superintendent for Tucson. "The advantages that LEDs offer are unquestionable, from better visibility to lowered maintenance requirements. Most importantly, the city is seeing significant savings in energy costs because the luminaires run with significantly more efficiency than our previous street lights, and we did not sacrifice light quality to achieve those savings."