Towns all over the country are
making use of various funding sources to change out incandescent traffic lights
and pedestrian crossing signs and replace them with LED lamps. How much can they expect to
save? The average LED bulb consumes 80-90% less energy than an incandescent
bulb, and when you consider the usage at city scale, that really adds up.
Tucson, Arizona is in the process
of making the change and expects to see a savings of approximately in the first year alone - and so far they have
only implemented the change in the immediate downtown area.
Denny's Leading the Movement
The restaurant chain Denny's has
made LED lamps corporate Personalized Gifts
policy and all the franchises are making the change. In Colorado Springs,
Colorado a Denny's franchisee that made the change in five locations cites
a reduction in his annual energy
expenses. And, lest you think Denny's is the only one on the bandwagon, Chili's
has announced that they are making the switch too.
More Good Reasons
While the financial incentive is
clearly significant, there are other good reasons to make the switch. Switching
to LEDs reduces the carbon emissions generated by lighting needs. Fairview,
Texas recently opened a new street lit entirely by LED bulbs and expects to
create a thousand pounds less carbon per year with just those 82 bulbs. The
list of cities joining the LED City program sponsored by Cree, Inc. a
manufacturer of LED lamps is growing.
Mercury Concerns
The other popular replacement for
incandescent bulbs is CFL. Compact fluorescent bulbs, unfortunately, contain
mercury. In fact, the mercury in just one CFL bulb is enough to poison 1000
gallons of water. Consider that few states have any safety protocols in place
when it comes to the disposal of CFL bulbs and the potential for devastating
ecological damage is clear. LED Lamps contain no mercury at all, and since they
last so long, they decrease the volume of material going to landfills as well.
The advantage of switching to Custom Gifts is clear from
many perspectives. Fortunately, the price of such bulbs is dropping and they
are rapidly approaching the price point where they will be affordable for use
throughout the home as well.
