Upgraded street lights bring significant benefits

Public lighting plays an important role making streets and public spaces safe at night. But keeping over 480,000 public lights on across the country comes at an inevitable cost. In fact, it accounts for half of all the electricity consumed by local authorities in Ireland. This is why local authorities are interested in upgrading public lighting to modern, efficient technology.

LED technology

Upgrading public lights to LED is going to make our public lighting systems more efficient and sustainable. LED lights are just as bright as the old fashioned lights that they're replacing, but they use half the energy. They can also incorporate smart features - meaning they can be dimmed at appropriate times - making them even more efficient.

Cost efficiencies

Because LED lights are more efficient they're much cheaper to run than traditional lights. They're also robust and can last a long time — up to 20 years — reducing the need for regular maintenance. And they're designed to help reduce light pollution, offering additional benefits to the wider environment.

Rollout across 21 local authorities

The project is being rolled out across three regions involving 21 local authorities.

• In the Southern Region, led by Cork County Council, 77,000 lights will be upgraded.
• The Eastern Region, led by Kilkenny County Council, will convert 83,000 lights.
• The North-West Region, led by Mayo County Council, will upgrade 45,000 lights.

Once the upgrade is complete, local authorities are expected to save €12 million a year, cut electricity use by 68 million kilowatt-hours, and reduce CO₂ emissions by 20,000 tonnes annually.

For more information about the National Public Lighting Energy Efficiency Project, read the article on our National Programmes page.