A story in a national newspaper told the story of how a number of council across the UK are turning down the road lighting in attempts to cut costs. The Daily Telegraph reports that one in 10 street lights are gradually powered down overnight or turned off entirely in an attempt to save cash on energy payments. A number of local authorities are having their public spending budgets reduced in an endeavor to reduce the country’s financial obligations and as a result, the councils are now in search of ways to cut costs.
Cllr Peter Box, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Economy and Transport Board, says that in times of difficult financial pressure, councils should look for ways to cut costs and save taxpayers’ money but without minimizing public safety. He promises that by doing this, it doesn’t impact frontline providers like fixing potholes, child protection and collecting bins. And if councils dimmed their own pendant lighting and bathroom wall lighting in buildings, they would be able to cut costs even more.
It is suggested that if UK authorities turn off just 9% of their LED lighting they can save a massive £21.5 million per year but the schemes applied to reduce the street lighting is actually priced at five times more than saving and is a staggering £106.3 million, so at first it will be more expensive to save. The pricey schemes consist of of energy used being put in along with changing lights to part-night functions; nevertheless some councils won’t be able to picture a return on investment or get any advantages for almost a decade. But if councils can spend less, homeowners can too with their garden lighting and bathroom lighting.
Breakdown cover company AA has distributed a caution about the proposition, claiming that factors must be considered as lucent places are frequently advised as a preventative crime measure. But the head of road safety, Andrew Howard, has said that dampening the power usage of wall lighting and street lights for part of the night is a far better option than removing them completely. Councils have been advised by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety that they need to monitor traffic in the areas and have a clear reason for softening or removing the outdoor lighting.
The number of councils throughout the UK thinking about the plan is increasing as well as the number of homeowners with their garden lights or kitchen lighting. Bedford Borough Council is running a trial of turning off 83-lights between for 5 hours a night to save £383 a year. And Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council has said it hopes to dim 4,500-lights from 10pm and 6am for one year too. In addition, Derbyshire County Council is thinking about getting included and switching off lights between midnight and 5:30am to help save £400,000 a year; and Leeds City Council is also preparing to power down 8,000 lights during the period of three years. Furthermore, Warwickshire County Council has stated it will start to turn off 80% of its 48,500 street lights at the beginning of next year.
Nevertheless, many authorities in cities have made the decision not to become immersed in the scheme with Birmingham, Manchester and almost all of London boroughs not changing off their tiffany lighting. Denbighshire Council in Wales has stated that the payback period is too much and Croydon Council claim that they decided never to dim the street lights.
Just as the councils, you can cut your energy bills too by dimming the chandeliers and wall lights. Try to turn the bathroom lights and kitchen lights off when not being used to be eco-friendly and encourage the children to value how costly modern lighting rates can be. Many bathroom spotlights can now be bought that are low energy rated.