Politics & Government

New LED Street Lights Expected to Save Sharon Money

A new light contract with the town of Sharon is expected to bring big savings to the town over the next few years.

After participating in a regional procurement through the Metropolitan Planning Council with Winchester, and Somerville, Sharon has won a bid to change their street lights and bring more energy efficient LED street lights to town. 

“The benefits of the LEDs include that they use half the electricity so they're green and cost effective. They last a minimum of five times as long so it’s advantageous from a maintenance point of view,” Sharon town manager Ben Puritz told the selectmen earlier this week.

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Puritz added that the actual light would be set to white moonlight with a better distribution of light compared to the existing light which have a bright spot followed by gaps of darkness.

To pay for the new lights, a lease-purchase arraignment is going to be financed internally by the town. 

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“We’re going to pay for this by the immediately realized savings of electricity. The utility costs will go down a minimum of 50 percent. That and the reduced maintenance costs will exceed the amount of the lease payments,”  Purtiz said.

After a $87,000 rebate from NSTAR, the cost of the lease is expected to be around $392,000 and will be paid over 10 years with annual payments of $47,000.

After 10 years, the obligations to pay for the lights will be fulfilled and there will be no more payments for the rest of the life of the lights.

The lights are expected to last up to 25 years.

Installation is expected to start after an audit and inventory of all the lights in town in February with a target end date of April 1.


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