Switch to LED saves county $20K

Published 1:30 am Saturday, April 7, 2018

Snohomish County Public Works in 2016 replaced more than 400 street lights and traffic signals with energy efficient LED versions, thanks to a state grant. It tracked the energy used by the new light fixtures compared to the old, and found the costs to operate went down from $75,438 to $55,095 — a savings of 27 percent.

Power consumption in 2016 was 746,826 kWh. In 2017, it was 510,453 kWh, a 32 percent reduction.

The grant was $132,453, meaning the grant will pay for itself in less than six years, county staff noted.

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