Whitby Watson Street LED Pilot LPAC Members: Mark Witzel Arnold Brody Ian Wheelband Mary-Ann Kalotai

Overview  Town of Whitby has ~11,600 HPS (High Pressure Sodium) street lights.  LED (Light Emitting Diode) is more efficient and longer life than HPS  >2x lumens/watt  >2x life expectancy  Therefore:  lower energy usage  lower maintenance costs  lower environmental impacts  Whitby LED pilot to gather public feedback on LED

 New Streetlight Technology recommendation report (Report PW 10-12), dated Jan 30, prepared by Public Works for presentation to Operations Committee  Started LED Pilot on April 19 th  11 lights located on Watson Street between Victoria and Charles  LED (blue) vs HPS (orange) Watson Street LED Pilot

Durham Region News Article  Whitby striving to reduce carbon footprint using energy efficient streetlights.  Town of Whitby article comments:  Other Municipalities are switching to LED  Investigate opportunity to lower hydro bill, increase lighting distribution, save money in the long run.  Claims 3 main benefits of LED:  1) 50% less energy  2) Reduces carbon footprint and last longer  3) Natural cool colour therefore attracts less bugs and allows human eye to see better.

DRAA LPAC Concerns  LPAC supports New Streelight Technology recommendation report.  However report doesn’t contain LED type specifics.  Concerns over colour temperature of LED Pilot lights.  IDA Nightscapes #80 (2010) article title “Seeing Blue” outlines that 3500K LEDs be used rather than 5000K LEDs.  Bluer LEDs cause more glare and skyglow impacting astronomers.  Public Survey is poorly designed as it only allows selection of LED over HPS, no variation in types (colour temperature, fixture type); so if you prefer LED, you prefer their chosen LED.  Concerns over myth vs fact…….

Myth Busters #1  Myth: Cool blue colour attracts less bugs than warm light  Fact: Blue and ultraviolet are more attractive to bugs.

Myth Busters #2  Myth: Natural cool colour allows human eye to see better  Fact: Blue-rich light causes more glare and also causes smaller pupil sizes than yellower light, especially at lower luminance levels which reduces visual performance. Also, as eye ages, ocular transparency is reduced, particularly at bluer wavelengths which negatively impacts the elderly.

What can you do?  Town of Whitby has opened an online survey for Whitby residents:  If desired, DRAA LPAC can provide statement for you to include with survey:  Contact  Or visit (look for posting soon)

Credits  Presentation by Mark Witzel for use by DRAA  Watson Street LED Pilot pictures courtesy of Mike Cook