Melbourne Beach officials are considering a plan that would save the town money on its current cost to light the community by converting streetlights to LED.
According to Florida Power & Light, LED (light-emitting diode) lights are much more energy efficient than standard incandescent bulbs, not only using use less electricity but lasting up to 10 times longer.
In addition to saving the town money, Town Manager Robert Daniels said there are other advantages.
“The benefit is less light pollution, a more brilliant night sky, as well as doing our part to lessen our carbon footprint,” Daniels said.
“All of the street lights would be replaced and some of our lights in Ryckman Park.”
During a meeting on Nov. 7, FPL presented commissioners with a program that would replace their streetlights with FPL-owned LED lights.
Initial costs would be covered by a tariff approved by the Florida Public Service Commission last year.
If all goes according to plan, the change could come as early as next year. “I am confident that the town commission will give their approval to the LED streetlight conversion, but the issue probably will not be on the agenda until the December meeting,” Daniels said. “I am conducting a study to determine where brighter lights are needed.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the benefits of LED lights include a reduced carbon footprint, lower energy bills (with an average savings of 25-to-50 percent), longer life, better light distribution, increased visibility, lower maintenance costs and fewer outages.
A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases produced to support human activities, such as heating and cooling your home, automobile use, etc.
More than 30 cities in Florida are already converting to LED lights through the program, including West Melbourne and Sebastian.
