Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, August 15, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - New light emitting diode (LED) traffic lights being installed throughout the city will cut energy bills to a fraction of the cost of traditional bulbs.

Mark Henry, energy co-ordinator for the city of Yellowknife, said that the bulbs are 90 to 95 percent more efficient than the standard incandescent bulbs.

"We're definitely ahead of the ball game," said Henry, noting that just seven other cities in Canada have also switched to an all-LED system.

The city pays an average of $70,000 annually in energy bills for traffic lights.

That number will be cut to $7,000 once all the LED lights have been installed, according to Henry.

It will cost around $70,000 to install the bulbs, but that is offset by a $36,000 grant from the GNWT under Environment and Natural Resources' Energy Conservation Program.

"It's a win-win situation," said City Coun. Paul Falvo. "It's going to save a lot of energy, and pay for itself."

So how many city workers does it take to change a light bulb? Joe Vadnoski, who is leading the switch, said it takes two workers about 12 hours to make the necessary changes at each intersection.

Crews started installing the new bulbs last summer, and have replaced about half the lights so far.

The job will be complete by the end of this year.

The project falls under the city's Community Energy Plan.

The city is auditing its energy consumption and over the next three years plans to spend $1.09 million on energy savings projects.