To Switch Off or Not?

Wow, is he really going to touch on the oh so delicate and already well debated issued of switching street lighting off?


Yes, I am!


Why, well because it needs to be discussed and needs to be understood enough by everyone, including the general public in order for people to have informed opinions on the subject and not just outraged concerns.


Energy is a dying commodity and that is that. Whilst energy can be made for free via wind and solar, we are many years away from it become our main energy source.


Street lighting currently uses around 640,000 kw per hour of usage... This equates to a bill in the region of £260,000,000 per year. An astronomical amount of money to keep roads lit.

Not only is there the cost of energy that is a concern, we also need to consider the amount of CO2 emissions created. Based on given figures, we would need to plant somewhere in the region of 340 trees for every hour the lights are on to offset the carbon emissions for the entire UK street lighting stock... not the most practical way of reducing our impact and doesn't help with the immediate budget cuts everyone is having to face.


So whats the answer...


Well there is no single correct answer, just a range of choices available.


1. Do nothing
2. Turn off the street lightings
or
3. Dim the street lighting.


I doubt very much that the 'Do nothing' option is much of an option at all.


As for turning off the street lighting, well of course this is an option, but is it the best? Will it provide the best value for money and return on investment and will it keep everyone happy? We know for a fact that there is local uproar if the street lighting has been designated to be switched off (I know, I live in Essex and that is exactly what has happened).


We must also consider that lighting switched off either partially throughout the night or entirely, it must be maintained. This means there will always be a cost associated to the equipment whether it is being used or not (connection charges, maintenance fees, cleaning and electrical testing etc).


I know of stories where local authorities are spending in excess of £5m to roll out the switching off schemes. This will take a huge amount of time to pay back even if the energy saved by switching off is a significant amount. £5m will also go a long way to upgrading the worst performing street lighting to better, more modern requirements.


So why not dim? Why not reduce the output of all the street lighting within an entire borough and reduce it by 75% between 12:00am and 5:30am? The energy savings over just one year could be tremendous and you would still keep the lighting on (even if it is just a bit!)


For further advice on switching off or dimming, check out the ILP's guidance note on the subject here... 
http://www.theilp.org.uk/uploads/Save%20Money%20and%20Keep%20the%20Lights%20ON.pdf


I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue, please leave a comment below and we will start to kick off a blog based debate on the situation!


Scott.