Washington State Saving Energy, Money with Hwy LED Lighting

Washington State is replacing some outdated highway lighting on US 101 with LED lights, joining California and Massachusetts in an initiative that should save the state thousands in energy and maintenance costs. Washington's transportation department will be able to control the system depending on traffic volume, and the LEDs will be brighter than the previous lighting system.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has begun installing the state's first light emitting diode (LED) highway lights, in an effort to cut energy use and infrastructure costs.

"Over the next 22 months, we will look at how the lights function and analyze the cost savings at this location," said WSDOT State Traffic Engineer John Nisbet in a statement. "That information will help us build a plan for more LED lights across the state. We have close to 60,000 lights on the state highway system and more LEDs could translate into significant energy and cost savings."

The new lighting has been installed on US 101, just west of Olympia at the Black Lake Boulevard interchange. WSDOT expects full operation of the new lighting system later next month.

The new LED lighting system should last about 15 years, and save about $75,000 in maintenance and operating costs. The change from the previous high-pressure-sodium (HPS) highway lights to LEDs allows WSDOT to remotely adjust light levels and turn off individual light poles when traffic decreases, and the LED lights tend to be brighter than standard lighting.

California Department of Transportation is also using the technology, as it announced last year it was installing 40,000 LED street lights to replace the older technology through a two-year period, reducing energy while saving about $2 million each year in energy costs.

h/t: AASHTO Journal