Greenville Mayor Knox White announced Tuesday that Greenville is the first in South Carolina to have a light emitting diode (LED) streetlight pilot program. He said LED lights have been installed on Main Street as part of a six-month pilot by Duke Energy.
This pilot is part of the Greening of Greenville program to become the most eco-friendly place in South Carolina.
White said the original streetlight fixtures used mercury vapor bulbs, which had become outdated due to higher efficiency lamps and concerns about their toxic mercury content.
The LED streetlight project will test various fixtures for aesthetics, maintenance, power consumption, light quality and public safety.
“The LED lighting was chosen for the pilot because its brightness is equal to or greater than existing lighting technologies and light is well-distributed over the area lighted by the fixture,” said Michael Kerski, the City’s Economic Development Manager. “The light output also remains more constant over time, only decreasing towards the end of the rated lifetime.”
This pilot is one of the three components that Greenville has put into effect to become more eco-friendly. The other two are the EV Ecosystem, which includes the WeCar sharing program, and Duke Energy’s Smart Building Advantage program.
South Carolina Radio Network’s Tripp Girardeau contributed to this report.
