EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Borough of Tarentum in Western Pennsylvania is converting 100 percent of its street lighting to GE’s new Evolve™ LED Scalable Cobrahead fixtures with dimmable photocells. The switch will save Tarentum approximately 66 percent in annual lighting energy and maintenance costs, equaling about $40,000 based on a $.10 kWh rate and 4,000 hours of operation a year. And, with financing from GE Capital, the borough now has a lease-to-own solution that requires no out-of-pocket funds and results in an annual positive cash flow.
GE conducted an audit of Tarentum’s old street lighting comprised of 100- and 250-watt fixtures. The analysis showed it consumed 335,771 kilowatt hours (kWhs) of electricity annually, opposed to an estimated 112,517 kWhs to power GE’s Evolve LED Roadway fixtures for one year. The LED lights, with a 50,000-hour rated life, would also alleviate maintenance costs—Tarentum was receiving frequent calls to respond to streetlight outages with resulting labor totaling $20,000 a year.
GE Capital then facilitated a lease-to-own financing strategy that applies the city’s monthly street lighting savings of $3,200 toward its LED lighting purchase. As a result, the borough was cash flow positive from day one of the project.
Tarentum retrofit 430 streetlights with dimmable and programmable Evolve LED fixtures. The dimming capability of GE’s Monitor™ Stand-Alone Controllers allows Tarentum to dim the lights to a prefixed percentage.
“Start to finish, the decision was reached in four months after Tarentum learned of GE’s technology and financing program,” said Austin Ashe, GE territory manager. “Tarentum was able to look into the program, ask questions and review the details quickly, which is significant because in this case, the city was able to align this program with their budget and maintenance cycle.”
For more information about LED street lighting solutions from GE, visit www.gelightingsolutions.com.
About GE Lighting
GE Lighting invents with the vigor of its founder Thomas Edison to develop energy-efficient solutions that change the way people light their world in commercial, industrial, municipal and residential settings. The business employs about 15,000 people in more than 100 countries, and sells products under the Reveal® and Energy Smart® consumer brands, and Evolve™, GTx™, Immersion™, Infusion™, Lumination™ and Tetra® commercial brands, all trademarks of GE. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information, visit www.gelighting.com.