With councils the nation over looking to slash operational costs and reduce energy bills wherever possible, it is no surprise that Derbyshire County Council has turned to LEDs in a bid to save money on lighting in its bus shelters.
However, the lights will not just be any ordinary LEDs - they will be solar-powered. This will bring about even more savings for the council as the lights will not use up any electricity at all, on top of not producing any emissions whatsoever.
Zeta is the company which has been selected to carry out the retrofit installations for the council.
Anthony McClellan, commercial director of the firm, commented: "This successful bid affirms our competitive position in the solar-powered LED lighting market," adding that he was really looking forward to working with the council and building on their already "excellent" relationship.
Solar-powered LEDs extend the benefits of conventional LEDs as they are not required to be connected to the national grid, making installation far easier, more adaptable and less disruptive as the company will not need to dig trenches in order to bury any wiring.
The systems - of which the company has already carried out over 4,500 installations nationwide - work by harnessing the sun's energy during the day and then beginning to illuminate the shelters at dusk. The shelters will feature passive infrared technology, which will sense when someone has arrived at it. In response, the light intensity will gently increase and remain activated until the systems detect that the person has moved on. This way, no energy is wasted while simultaneously not compromising on the security of those using the shelters at night.
It has been forecast that the lighting will be fitted and fully operational within a matter of months.
Derbyshire County Council has announced that it expects the scheme will save it £117,995 over the next five years.
Councillor John Allsop, cabinet member for recycling and technology, said: "The LED units also last considerably longer than fluorescent alternatives helping us to make significant savings." According to Zeta, the lights have a lifetime of 50,000 hours, as well as a high threshold of vandal resistance giving them far better longevity.
