San Jose Switches 5,600 Traffic Signals to LED

New LEDs have replaced incandescent bulbs at thousands of traffic signals in San Jose, California making the lights burn brighter, last longer and cost far less to power, the Mercury News reports. The city has nearly completed installing the LEDs on 56,000 signals and 800 pedestrian lights

The energy savings in San Jose will be about $1.6 million a year. San Francisco estimates it has cut its costs by nearly $1.2 million a year. Santa Clara County figures its costs are down $500,000 on its expressway system.

LED signals use as little as 20 percent of the power of a typical incandescent lamp. Where the old lights needed to be changed once a year, LEDs last at least seven years.

For information on government programs for energy-efficient traffic signals, visit the Consortium for Energy Efficiency.