Ypsilanti City Hall may become a showplace for LED lighting if its $100,000 grant application is approved.
The funds are part of a $1 million pool made available earlier this spring by the
Michigan Energy Office for municipalities to install advanced lighting technology demonstration projects. The grant would cover materials and equipment, with $86,000 from the city's revolving energy fund covering labor costs, says Stan Kirton, Ypsilanti's director of public services.
"With the savings that we'll realize, we'll replenish that revolving fund and continue to do projects as we go along," Kirton says.
Energy cost avoidance estimates are not yet available, but if all 400-plus light fixtures in City Hall were changed to LEDs, Kirton figures a minimum savings of 20-30% annually. Using the mayor's office as a demo for instance, when the city swapped four G12 florescent lights for a pair of LED fixtures, the electricity savings for that office alone was $195 per year.
"If you consider all the hallways and all the other offices that we would upgrade, I think the amount will be substantial," he says.
The public will be able to track savings and other stats on the
Solar Ypsi website, Kirton adds.
This is
Ypsilanti's second shot at LED lighting grant funds; a prior application for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant grant round was unsuccessful. At that time, five times as many municipalities applied as there was money to give, according to the Michigan Energy Office.
City officials expect to learn of the decision in July.
Sources: Stan Kirton, Ypsilanti's director of public services; Michigan Energy Office
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
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