In an effort to adjust the city to more environmentally friendly practices, Kansas City council have begun a program to change all their streetlights to use LED lightbulbs. Kansas City has upwards of 84,000 lights being changed to LEDs. Local environmental groups have been pushing for better lightbulbs to help transform the city’s environmental practices.
LED lighting provides a more natural light rather than their alternatives. The high pressure-sodium lights are not as bright and give off an amber colored glow to the streets. Switching to the LED lights will save the city a lot of money in maintenance and in energy efficiency. LED lights last years longer than sodium-power lightbulbs. They are also more energy conscious by using 50% less energy than the former bulbs. The change to LED streetlights is a long-term investment that will save Kansas City $27 million over the course of ten years.
“Every time a small group of citizens makes a difference, I am awe-struck, but big credit also goes to the city for listening and stepping up to take another look at the project from all environmental aspects,” Mary Nemecek, Conservation chair for the Burroughs of Audubon Society of Greater Kansas, says.
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