The St. Charles Parish Council voted unanimously to approve a change October 9 to the St. Charles Parish’s Code of Ordinances, calling for all new subdivision developments to now use LED street light fixtures in lieu of the high-pressure sodium (HPS) light fixtures, previously the standard.
“Every ten or 15 years the standards change; we had several requests to update this [code] to LED standards,” Michael Albert, Planning and Zoning Director, said earlier at the council meeting.
Developers will now be required to deposit $450 per streetlight with St. Charles Parish, up from $300 per streetlight, as part of any new subdivision development.
HPS lights are easily identified by their amber light emitted after dusk. Once a standard night scene along most residential streets in St. Charles Parish, the yellow-tinted glow across parish streets will now be replaced with the brighter light of LED streetlights in newer subdivisions.
Now considered by many to be outdated technology, HPS streetlights may soon face the same fate as its distant incandescent bulb and fluorescent bulb cousins, which have been banned or phased out in favor of longer-lasting, more environmentally friendly lighting technology. Earlier last year the Canadian government proposed banning the import of HPS lighting by the end of 2028. The United States government has not yet instituted a HPS lighting ban, but in many states across the U.S., HPS lighting has begun to be phased out in favor of LED lighting.
According to lighting industry blog Solarledlight.com, HPS streetlights require more frequent maintenance and bulb replacements, and take longer to warm up. HPS lights do emit a warmer, amber-colored light versus the cooler bluish light of LED light, but as an older light technology, HPS lights contain a small amount of mercury, a hazardous material that presents environmental concerns when being disposed of.
LED lights have a higher upfront cost than HPS streetlights, but turn on instantly, and are widely thought to save money over time due to energy efficiency and longer lifespan.
A typical HPS bulb can last anywhere from 24,000 to 28,000 hours of operating time, while an LED streetlight can last up to 100,000 hours – equating to as much as 20 to 25 years of use. Scores of municipalities across the country, like St. Charles Parish, have begun slowly converting to LED street lighting, whose cost continues to go down as the technology advances.
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