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"They the fancy new LED lights going in?"
"Yep."
A chat with the lads putting in new lighting in Inchicore prompts a quick thread for the odd kind of people potentially interested in the energy savings we can make from public lighting changes. (1/9)
"Yep."
A chat with the lads putting in new lighting in Inchicore prompts a quick thread for the odd kind of people potentially interested in the energy savings we can make from public lighting changes. (1/9)
Public lighting is the number one energy user for Dublin City Council.
In 2019, 24% of the council's energy use was on lighting, producing 7,235 tonnes of CO2, using 41.4GWh. Costs over €10m a year to operate.
There are over 47,000 lights, and the number is growing. (2/9)
In 2019, 24% of the council's energy use was on lighting, producing 7,235 tonnes of CO2, using 41.4GWh. Costs over €10m a year to operate.
There are over 47,000 lights, and the number is growing. (2/9)
Mostly, they're the pretty inefficient kind. Here's the number of lights in 2019, ranked by efficiency.
LED – 9,321 (20%)
Low Pressure Sodium – 14,837 (32%)
High Pressure Sodium – 19,680 (42%)
Other – 3,121 (7%)
(3/9)
LED – 9,321 (20%)
Low Pressure Sodium – 14,837 (32%)
High Pressure Sodium – 19,680 (42%)
Other – 3,121 (7%)
(3/9)
Now I ain't no lights expert (*audience gasps*), but you can fairly easily tell the old from the new kind. They're midway through changing them here in Inchicore, as you can see.
(Yes, I am the local man who goes around taking photos of lighting. Embrace your thirties.) (4/9)
(Yes, I am the local man who goes around taking photos of lighting. Embrace your thirties.) (4/9)
You can also see the newer kind are better at directing the light and are thus less likely to cause light pollution by pointlessly uplighting. They're also cheaper to maintain and need less replacing.
There'll be some ornate "heritage" designs too for some areas. (5/9)
There'll be some ornate "heritage" designs too for some areas. (5/9)
The plan is to replace virtually all 36,000 of the inefficient ones with new LEDs.
So far, the 9,000 or so new ones have (along with other measures) cut the carbon footprint of Dublin City's public lighting by 24% since 2009. (6/9)
So far, the 9,000 or so new ones have (along with other measures) cut the carbon footprint of Dublin City's public lighting by 24% since 2009. (6/9)
The big project began this year and aims to replace around 8,000 lamps a year and bring in some smarter light management systems.
All in all, it's expected to cut the energy use by 24.1GWh - about 60% lower than 2019. (7/9)
All in all, it's expected to cut the energy use by 24.1GWh - about 60% lower than 2019. (7/9)
Given that (a) the council is aiming to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 and (b) public lighting is the biggest emitter, you can see why this is an important one to get right!
Overall cost of the project (along with some other stuff) is (I think) €80m.
(8/9)
Overall cost of the project (along with some other stuff) is (I think) €80m.
(8/9)
Are you the kind of person who somehow wants more info on the energy/climate side of public lighting? (Impress ur m8z? Bore your kids?)
You can check out the 2019 DCC Energy Review here. The public lighting stuff is page 14 on: https://councilmeetings.dublincity.ie/documents/s30966/2019_DCC_Energy_Review_Web.pdf
(9/9)
You can check out the 2019 DCC Energy Review here. The public lighting stuff is page 14 on: https://councilmeetings.dublincity.ie/documents/s30966/2019_DCC_Energy_Review_Web.pdf
(9/9)
Bonus tweet: the streetlights have switched on. New one on right. Seems much whiter, less bright, but does illuminate much more clearly.
