Maalot-Tarshiha Takes Lead in LED

YERUSHALAYIM
The Maalot-Tarshiha city hall. (Wikipedia)
The Maalot-Tarshiha city hall. (Wikipedia)

The northern Israeli municipality of Maalot-Tarshiha is taking the world lead in LED lighting, set to become the first ever to be fully illuminated by LED, reports Globes.

The municipality has begun replacing 13,000 street lamps and lighting units in public buildings with electronic units at an estimated total investment of NIS 12 million.

The changeover is slated for completion by the end of this year, and a return on the investment within four years is anticipated.

The Maalot-Tarshiha municipality’s electricity bill now stands at NIS 5 million a year, and the conversion to LED will make possible a reduction of NIS 3.5 million a year.

The lifespan of an LED light is estimated at 10 to 15 years. An average LED bulb is just 50 watts, compared with 270 watts for the sodium bulbs standard in Israel’s cities and towns.

Major cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle are currently implementing similar conversions to LED, but these projects will not be completed before 2014.

The Israeli company Juganu Systems will conduct the changeover, and it will also supply Maalot-Tarshiha with the central control system that will regulate lighting in all parts of the town through 12 switchboards. The control system will be internet-based and will be run by the system manager, among other ways, through a personal smartphone.

The LED changeover is environmentally friendly, projected to save 35,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year through the conservation of electricity.

The Jewish city of Maalot and the Arab town of Tarshiha, with a current total population of over 20,000, merged in 1963.

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