Council Shines Light On Daytime Streetlamp Illumination

Monmouthshire County Council’s contractors are taking steps to reduce the number of street lights presently illuminated during the day. Recently-installed LED lights are particularly affected but the problem centres mainly on the remote control wireless technology used to regulate the switching on and off and dimming of street lighting. The LED lights are being introduced gradually across the county to reduce energy consumption. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The company providing the remote control technology has uncovered a batch of faulty control systems in addition to a number of communication issues which contribute towards the problem. Monmouthshire’s Head of Operations, Roger Hoggins commented that now the problem has been diagnosed the company is already replacing the faulty equipment as well as assessing how the wireless technology can be reconfigured to improve the remote control communication system. He said: “Improvements following this work should become apparent soon.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

LED lamps use considerably less energy than older style lanterns and the council is not incurring extra energy costs due to lights being illuminated during the day because of how street lighting energy is presently charged. However, this does not mean that the council can ignore day-burning lamps and officers are anxious to resolve problems. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Roger Hoggins added: “It is worth noting that the introduction of LEDs makes sense, especially as the cost of the technology continues to drop as the market grows. We have taken interest-free loans to pay for the new lamps using the reduction in energy costs to fund the borrowing.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​