Cities participating in the Outdoor Lighting Accelerator demonstrated practical and effective best practices to accelerate the adoption of high-efficiency outdoor lighting and improve system-wide replacement processes at the municipal level. Cities worked together and with DOE to drive analysis, secure funding, and install outdoor lighting systems. Partners developed best practice approaches to system-wide upgrades as well as addressed issues that limit investment in high-efficiency technologies such as financing and utility tariff-rates.
Dedicated to bringing you the latest actionable insights on today's energy efficiency landscape, the Better Buildings Webinar Series is a chance to explore the topics and trends that affect your organization with industry experts and your peers.
Financial Allies can help drive energy efficiency success for commercial, multifamily, industrial, and public buildings.
Better Buildings hosts interactive webinars featuring a variety of topics exploring cost-effective ways for organizations to integrate energy savings into their daily building operations. All Better Buildings webinars are free to attend.
Featured Solutions
The Better Buildings Outdoor Lighting Accelerator (OLA) worked with leaders from states, cities, and regional energy networks to accelerate the deployment of high performance street and area lighting in the public sector. In the 2.5-year program, over 1.3 million lights were replaced.
This tool helps municipalities determine if an LED conversion is feasible. It identifies the advantages (and/or disadvantages) of changing street light ownership structure by estimating the cost over time for purchasing a utility-owned street lighting system and converting it to LED energy-efficient lighting.
This document addresses some of the common concerns about the spectral emissions of LEDs, using an example dataset of 20 CALiPER-tested products that represent the full range of what is commonly available.
Other Resources
Fact Sheet
The Outdoor Lighting Accelerator worked with dozens of municipalities to accelerate the adoption and use of high efficiency outdoor lighting in the public sector, replacing over 1,500,000 lighting fixtures over a 2 year period.
Report
Across the nation, outdoor lighting helps communities create a safe environment for residents and business owners to live, work, play, and travel. This is a vital public service supported by taxpayer dollars that municipalities and their utilities provide, and there are many solutions that municipalities are adopting for LED conversions.
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Financing Guidance for LED Street Lighting Programs
The purpose of this page is to offer a brief introduction to the various financing models and tools that are becoming available, to present case studies of municipalities that have used those tools, and to provide links to resources that offer additional information.DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium (MSSLC)
Solid-state lighting (SSL) technology has the potential to reduce U.S. lighting energy usage by nearly one half and contribute significantly to our nation's climate change solutions.Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP)
The LEEP Campaign is a recognition and guidance program enabling facility owners and managers to take advantage of savings opportunities from high-efficiency lighting solutions in their parking facilities.Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs)
A Qualified Energy Conservation Bond (QECB) is a bond that enables qualified state, tribal, and local government issuers to borrow money at attractive rates to fund energy conservation projects (it is important to note that QECBs are not grants). A QECB is among the lowest-cost public financing tools because the U.S. Department of the Treasury subsidizes the issuer's borrowing costs.LED Technology and the Environment
- DOE Solid State Lighting Fact Sheet
- DOE SSL Program’s response to AMA guidance
- The Light Post
Helpful guidance for those in the lighting community who are in the midst of planning streetlight conversion projects or find themselves fielding questions related to the AMA guidance.
Partners
- Albany, NYAnchorage, AKCalifornia Street Light AssociationDearborn, MIDeerfield Beach, FLDelaware Valley Regional Planning CommissionDetroit, MIFlint, MIGarfield Clean Energy CollaborativeHuntington Beach, CALittle Rock, ARMid-America Regional CouncilPortland, MERacine, WISoutheast Michigan Regional Energy OfficeSouthern California Regional Energy NetworkSt Petersburg, FLState of TennesseeState of Washington
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Maine
Portland, MEArkansas
Little Rock, ARNew York
Albany, NYIllinois
Michigan
Dearborn, MIDetroit, MIFlint, MISoutheast Michigan Regional Energy OfficeCalifornia
Huntington Beach, CASouthern California Regional Energy NetworkCalifornia Street Light AssociationTennessee
State of TennesseeWashington
State of WashingtonPennsylvania
Delaware Valley Regional Planning CommissionRhode Island
Alaska
Anchorage, AKColorado
Garfield Clean Energy CollaborativeKansas
Mid-America Regional CouncilWisconsin
Racine, WI