MADRID, Feb 1 — Out with the old and in with the new.
Madrid is lighting up its streets using brighter, energy-saving LED technology.
As part of an “Energy Saving Plan”, the city plans to replace 225,000 street light bulbs, saving 36 per cent of annual energy consumption.
The goal is not only to reduce the cost of electricity, but the city council’s head of public lighting, Gemma Gallego, says the reduction is equal to CO2 emissions generated by more than 100,000 vehicles a year.
“The efficiency of an LED devise is comparable to the efficiency offered by sodium vapour light sources,” said Gallego, “and they also have a longer life, over 50,000 hours, which reduces their maintenance costs.”
The ambitious plan will cost Madrid more than US$160 million (RM581 million), but is expected to save around US$130 million over the next eight years.
The Spanish capital has pioneered energy-saving public lighting, replacing street lights in 1968 with high-pressure sodium vapour lighting. It first tested LED technology in traffic lights in 2004. — Reuters
