(Nov. 3, 2016) Nights in Downtown Berlin just got a little brighter – and a little more energy efficient – thanks to a virtual string of new LED bulbs installed on the town’s Victorian lampposts on Main Street downtown.
Improvements also were made to the Powellton Avenue and Walnut Hill Drive areas, and will eventually extend to all of the subdivisions in town, with town-wide savings estimated at more than $10,000.
Town Administrator Laura Allen said the lights were paid for with a $25,000 grant from the Maryland Smart Energy Communities. Thirty percent of the grant required matching funds, she said, but the town could use the cost of having town staff to install the lights to fulfill that requirement.
She said all of the LED lights were projected to lower energy costs by 15 percent, saving 85,145 kilowatt-hours or about $11,000, in energy consumption each year.
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams said replacing the lights on Main Street took about two weeks and included the “small tree lights” in the downtown area as well.
He said the town had been installing energy-saving lights as needed on other streets for several years, and that Berlin began using that technology as far back as the 1980s.
Back then, Williams said, the lights were yellow. Today’s LED bulbs appear bluish and brighter.
“Through technological progress and changes, everywhere you go, you see this hue,” he said. “Eventually, that will be the hue that is everywhere, because how can anybody say they need to keep energy inefficient lamps?”
While some had complained about the aesthetics of the new lights, that was a minor concern compared to the potential cost cutting. Williams said the majority of people in town seemed to be on board with the changes.
“It’s one of those things where I had to sit down and talk to myself and ask what is the basic premise here,” Williams said. “The basic premise [in Berlin] is 19th century charm, 21st century living. The hue is based on 21st century living, where we have responsibility to not burn energy wastefully. And for our purposes, I think both the lanterns and tree-lightings will certainly add to the charm, but also to the nighttime safety and feeling and comfort and security.
“When I think about the fact that we’re trying to do both, in a few years, nobody will even remember what the old lights looked like,” he added. “This is something that all the councilmembers and the public were invited months ago to go into the back parking lot [at Town Hall] because we put them in there first just to try to get everybody to realize there was a difference.”
Following that, Williams said, the town “didn’t get any big backlash.”
“I think, in a very short time it will be the new normal,” he said. “It’s the responsible thing to do and I don’t think it’s going to diminish the charm in anyway, especially when all the lights match – that’s key. Having a mix of old lights and new lights, that I wouldn’t be very pleased with.”
Improvements also were made to the Powellton Avenue and Walnut Hill Drive areas, and will eventually extend to all of the subdivisions in town, with town-wide savings estimated at more than $10,000.
Town Administrator Laura Allen said the lights were paid for with a $25,000 grant from the Maryland Smart Energy Communities. Thirty percent of the grant required matching funds, she said, but the town could use the cost of having town staff to install the lights to fulfill that requirement.
She said all of the LED lights were projected to lower energy costs by 15 percent, saving 85,145 kilowatt-hours or about $11,000, in energy consumption each year.
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams said replacing the lights on Main Street took about two weeks and included the “small tree lights” in the downtown area as well.
He said the town had been installing energy-saving lights as needed on other streets for several years, and that Berlin began using that technology as far back as the 1980s.
Back then, Williams said, the lights were yellow. Today’s LED bulbs appear bluish and brighter.
“Through technological progress and changes, everywhere you go, you see this hue,” he said. “Eventually, that will be the hue that is everywhere, because how can anybody say they need to keep energy inefficient lamps?”
While some had complained about the aesthetics of the new lights, that was a minor concern compared to the potential cost cutting. Williams said the majority of people in town seemed to be on board with the changes.
“It’s one of those things where I had to sit down and talk to myself and ask what is the basic premise here,” Williams said. “The basic premise [in Berlin] is 19th century charm, 21st century living. The hue is based on 21st century living, where we have responsibility to not burn energy wastefully. And for our purposes, I think both the lanterns and tree-lightings will certainly add to the charm, but also to the nighttime safety and feeling and comfort and security.
“When I think about the fact that we’re trying to do both, in a few years, nobody will even remember what the old lights looked like,” he added. “This is something that all the councilmembers and the public were invited months ago to go into the back parking lot [at Town Hall] because we put them in there first just to try to get everybody to realize there was a difference.”
Following that, Williams said, the town “didn’t get any big backlash.”
“I think, in a very short time it will be the new normal,” he said. “It’s the responsible thing to do and I don’t think it’s going to diminish the charm in anyway, especially when all the lights match – that’s key. Having a mix of old lights and new lights, that I wouldn’t be very pleased with.”