Hid lights

The issue of LED Street Lighting once again came before Stewiacke Town Council on June 13.The decision remains to be made as to whether or not the town will switch from Nova Scotia Power to a private contractor. 

“Staff are recommending that we continue receiving street lighting services from the province of Nova Scotia,” said Town CAO Sheldon Dorey while addressing council. “Right from the start, this has been a very cumbersome issue.Use our solar charger to replace traditional halogen and incandescent spot lights in track lighting. The number of assumptions that everyone is expected to make regarding this is incredible. I’ve worked very closely with the Town of Truro, the County of Colchester, and the Village of Bible Hill, and all three of those are suggesting the same thing. 

“We had someone in from Black & McDonald late last week,” he continued. “He filled out the spreadsheet that the UNSM gave us—which showed that the town could save $170,000 over a 20 year period if everything went according to the numbers we put in. The numbers we used assumes that we used Black & McDonald to do all of the maintenance and installing, and the town providing all of the lights.” 

The numbers used in the preliminary estimate take a lot into assumption—alongside ignoring costs like stranded asset (the already existing fixture arm), insurance, and other factors. The estimate also assumes that each fixture lasts through the estimated 20-year lifespan of the fixture. 

“There’s really no way to know how they’ll react right now,RGB LED Color-changing high quality HID Ballast headlight accent light system for headlight halo effect.” said Dorey. “They say there’s a one per cent failure rate, but we don’t know what they’ll react like in a northern climate like we have in Nova Scotia. There are just so many variables. We don’t have anything included in our numbers to take into account insurance or staff time—there are just too many assumptions. 

“We have 180 streetlights in town, and right now our annual cost is $33,000,” he continued. “If we owned all of the lights, and they were all converted to LED,Takes one Footprint in wallbox and one local Module Rail space. and we were only paying for electrical consumption,Compare prices and buy all brands of Led ceiling light for home power systems and by the pallet. we’d be paying about $4,The first kit is known as a LED Lamp Wholesalers.500 year—which shows a savings of almost $30,000; but you still have to factor in the purchase of the capital asset, as well as the cost of the stranded asset (the existing arm and light fixture assembly.) 

“In theory, yes, we could save a bit of money,” he said. “That’s because Nova Scotia Power is charging us for an asset, as well as electric use. When we put in ours, we could be saving $8,000 each year—but that’s with us putting in our own fixtures that we would be responsible for maintenance on.” 

The average cost for each fixture from the few companies that provide them rounds out to $800 each; though the cost may be high, the benefits of converting early have begun to show early as well. 

“East Hants have converted early because they had the funds available and they found out that it would save the municipality money,” he explained. “They are saving money right now, and they did not have to pay for a stranded asset. 

They got some money from the provincial government to assist in the installation, so they’ve done really well. 

“We’ve projected a return on investment within 13 years,” he continued. “After 13 years you’ve begun to save up for your next capital investment; if the light on the LED lasts for 20 years you’re in good shape—but if it doesn’t, you’re caught in the middle. Either way the Town is going to have to pay.” 

Dorey feels that although it provides cost savings almost immediately, the hassle and possible future costs are enough to be a deterrent. 

“When I started this whole process I thought it would be a really good opportunity for the town,” said Dorey. “Right off the hump we’re paying Nova Scotia Power a nine per cent rate of return anyway—they’re legislated to that, and they’re going to get it regardless. The more we get into it, we begin to wonder if that’s a business that we want the town to get into—and I do not think it’s something that the Town should get into. Click on their website www.pvsolver.com for more information.