Street lights and energy use

We are converting our street lights to LED technology to reduce energy and maintenance costs, and help reduce carbon emissions.

We are responsible for 30,000 street lights across South Gloucestershire. The 10-year programme to upgrade them will be completed in 2024.

The £7.9 million cost of the programme has already been offset by the savings it generates.

As of December 2021, it has resulted in £12 million in energy cost savings. By 2024 we project we will have saved at least £20 million.

Converting to LED technology will reduce our carbon emissions by around 4,800 tonnes per year.

The benefits of LED technology

LEDs have many benefits. They:

• consume less energy than older units
• last up to 4 times as long and are cheaper and easier to maintain
• are easier to control so we can dim them at selected times for maximum energy efficiency
• reduce light pollution as the beam is more focused, meaning less light ‘spills’ out into gardens, driveways and doors or into the sky

Light levels and LEDS

LED street lights do not appear as bright as older-style lights. This is because light from LEDs is more focused, which can make it appear darker outside of the lit areas.

We install additional units where the street lights are spaced so far apart that it will result in large areas of darkness.

What happens overnight

Newer LEDs (those installed from April 2017 onwards) are programmed to be on all night, but dimmed between 12 midnight and 5am, to help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

LEDs installed before 2017 cannot be dimmed. These are currently switched off for part of the night. They will be updated with dimmable lights in future, after the current replacement programme is completed.

You may not be able to tell when your street lights are dimmed, as dimming LED lights by 25-50% has been shown to be barely noticeable to the human eye.

Timetable for replacement

Check the timetable below to see whether your street has been upgraded or when it is due to be.

Before starting an area, we will notify councillors and, where appropriate, parish councils.