LED lighting reduces energy use, requires significantly reduced maintenance, the components are less toxic, and a total cost of ownership evaluation of the product demonstrates it results in significant savings.
Proposed procurement goals:
- 100% of lighting fixtures are LED and meet NY State's “Lighting Fixtures, Ballasts, and Lamps” EO 4 Specifications
- Create specifications that prohibit vendors from offering fluorescent lamps, fixtures, and ballasts on any new municipal supply contracts
- Track and report cost savings, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and other benefits that result from purchases of LED lighting equipment
- Use only LED bulbs that are ENERGY STAR-rated and RoHS compliant
- Use only LED/solar-powered lighting for a flashing sign or in a street, parking lot or park project
- Replace exterior building lighting for municipal buildings/facilities with energy efficient, Dark-Sky compliant lighting
- Replace municipal parking lot/ramp lighting with Dark-Sky compliant, energy efficient, automatic dimming lighting technologies
- Replace existing traffic signals with LEDs
Public policy:
- Update mercury reduction regulations to prohibit the sale of fluorescent lighting equipment for general purpose lighting applications. Many jurisdictions have already done this for other types of mercury added products.
- Develop environmentally preferable lighting contracts that offer a wide array of LED lighting products at discounted prices for local governments and partners
- Set green lighting programs, challenges, and goals to motivate employees, businesses, and the public to purchase LED bulbs and fixtures
- Develop green residential remodeling assistance/financing programs (Green Banks) to assist homeowners in adding space or features such as EV charging or green lighting
Case studies and resources:
- Minnesota GreenStep: Innovative policy and purchasing goals on lighting
- Sunco: Lighting certification descriptions
- New York State EO 4 Specifications Lighting Fixtures, Ballasts, and Lamps
- Minnesota and New York State have adopted new lighting specifications that prohibit vendors from offering fluorescent lamps, fixtures and ballasts on their state supply contracts.
- New York State and the City of San Francisco have developed lighting contracts that feature LED bulbs and luminaries.
- California created the Million LED Lamp Challenge, which is working “to make high‐quality, high‐efficiency light sources available at a great price” to the students, staff and alumni of the University of California, California State Universities, and California Community Colleges.
- Maryland and Massachusetts track and report cost savings, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and other benefits that result from purchases of LED lighting equipment. For example, in its FY2020 Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Annual Report, the Massachusetts Operational Services Division calculated approximately $2 million in annual cost savings–and nearly $18 million in lifetime cost savings–in 2020 resulting from purchases of LEDs by state agencies, local governments and other users of its statewide contracts.
- San Jose, CA’s Green Vision: Replace 100 percent of streetlights with energy-efficient lighting. RPN
- Maryland: Must be Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs).
- New York City: In 2005, NYC became the first major US city to ban inefficient incandescent light bulbs from their operations. RPN
- New York City adopted an energy-efficient procurement law that requires: Any faucet, shower head, toilet, urinal, fluorescent tube lamp, fluorescent ballast, industrial HID luminaire, downlight luminaire, fluorescent luminaire or compact fluorescent lamp that is purchased or leased by any agency for which the federal energy management program of the United States department of energy has issued product energy efficiency recommendations shall achieve no less energy efficiency…than the minimum recommended in such recommendations. RPN