Welland chooses LED lighting for streetlight developments

Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer, local politicians and industry representatives celebrated in the Welland City Hall council chambers an outstanding commitment to energy conservation as city officials announced their membership in the LED City initiative.

"We're pleased to contribute our technical expertise and be part of something truly worthwhile," said Scott Riesebosch of CRS Electronics. "This proposed LED streetlight technology will help reduce the city's overall energy and maintenance costs and support the local economy. We hope other municipalities will see the benefits of this program."

CRS Electronics of Welland will supply the LED light engine component for the LEDs.

LED City is an international program that allows government and industry to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting technology across a range of municipal infrastructure to save energy, protect the environment, reduce maintenance costs and provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety.

In Welland, LEDs have been utilized for several years. In 2005, the city converted all of its incandescent traffic signals to LEDs, resulting in a 66 percent reduction in power consumption, while in 2007, 47 LED streetlights were installed along Fitch Street.

"Welland has demonstrated a sincere commitment to reduce wasteful electricity practices. This exemplifies what other municipalities need to work toward," said Peter Love. "The LED City initiative is a terrific visual example of how infrastructure can be an important component on Ontario's path to conservation."

The City will convert its current decorative pedestrian lighting to LED within the downtown core as part of a downtown revitalization project. The additional 50 LED streetlights to be installed in Welland are based on the K56-EAR LED Series made by King Luminaire Company Inc., which contain LED light engines from Welland-based CRS Electronics. The light engines are based on the performance-leading Cree XLamp LED.

The cities of Toronto, Raleigh, Ann Arbor, Austin, Anchorage, Tianjin, (China) and Torraca (Italy) currently participate in the LED City program.