!Conduc(ng!a!Street!Light!Inventory!

A"How&To"Guide"""""

Tom!Konrad,!Ph.D.,!Marbletown!Environmental!Conserva(on!Commission!Kevin!Harjes,!MidDHudson!Street!Light!Consor(um!

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Goals!

•  Prepare!your!municipality!for!a!greener!alterna(ve!to!conven(onal!street!ligh(ng,!which!offers!savings!of!up!to!65%.!!!

•  Design!an!op(mal!ligh(ng!plan!to!enhance!pedestrian!and!vehicular!safety.!

•  Verify!billing!re:!number,!waNage!of!streetlights!to!save!money.!

•  Recover!from!past!overbilling.!!

Why?!!

•  Design!process!helps!ensure!community!acceptance!of!LEDs!conversion!process.!

•  Can!be!used!as!basis!for!future!projects!or!changes.!

•  Coordinated!planning!reduces!costs.!!

Savings!Poten(al!

•  LED!technology:!More!visibility!with!fewer!waNs.!

•  More!direct,!less!diffuse!‘down’!light.!!•  BeNer!visibility!for!first!responders.!•  Requires!only!35%!of!HPS!fixture!waNage.!

– Or!15%!of!MV!waNage.!

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LED!Technology!

•  ! Less!light!pollu(on!(‘Dark!Sky’!!compliant)!!

•  !!Op(onal!op(cal!controls!offer!!adjustable!light!!

!!! !!!

Addi(onal!Savings!

!Lower!maintenance!cost!is!key!feature!

– !10!to!20!year!life!expectancy!– !Failure!rate!exceedingly!low!

City!of!Los!Angeles!has!had!.8%!failure!rate!since!2011!conversion.!

PreDLED!Conversion!Tools!

•  Street!light!field!inventory.!–  Collect!informa(on!including!GPS!loca(on!and!type!of!fixture.!

•  ArcGIS!data!collec(on.!–  Accurate!and!simple!method!of!organizing!inventory!informa(on.!

•  ‘Paper’!audit!(ader!inventory)!–  Verifies!what!municipality!is!currently!paying;!iden(fies!overbilling.!Refunds!virtually!guaranteed.!

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Paper!Audit!

•  U(lity’s!inventory!of!streetlights!is!oden!inaccurate.!!

•  Overcharging!results!from!lights!that!are!burned!out!and!never!replaced;!lights!that!actually!belong!to!another!en(ty;!incorrect!repor(ng!of!waNages.!

!

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Paper!Audits,!cont’d!

•  Computel!Consultants,!Troy!&!Banks!both!specialize!in!iden(fying!and!correc(ng!overcharges!on!electric!bills.!

•  Iden(fy!cost!discrepancies.!•  No!upfront!cost!to!retain;!con(ngency!basis.!•  Law!allows!six!years’!worth!of!bills!to!be!reDvisited!for!errors.!

!!!

When!overcharging!is!found:!

•  A!refund!is!nego(ated!with!u(lity.!•  Auditors!take!40%!of!refund!as!payment.!•  Future!bills!are!reduced.!

Streetlight!Field!Inventory!

•  Field!inventory!of!municipality’s!streetlights!allows!you!to!plan!op(mal!placement!of!new!LEDs!depending!on!usage:!residen(al!vs.!commercial;!areas!of!high!pedestrian/vehicle!conflict,!etc.!

•  Individual!lights!can!be!considered!for!reduc(on!or!removal.!

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Gelng!started!

•  Step!1:!Acquire!inventory!from!u(lity!•  Some!u(li(es!provide!GPS!loca(ons!for!streetlights.!!!

•  Some!provide!only!the!name!of!the!road.!– GPS!loca(ons!or!street!address!can!be!obtained!by!volunteers!and!cross!referenced!with!pole!numbers.!

Mapping:!Free!or!Professional?!

•  Streetlight!data!should!be!mapped!using!GIS!mapping!sodware!such!as!ArcGIS.!

•  Larger!municipali(es!will!likely!have!a!paid!ArcGIS!account!and!staff!familiar!with!the!sodware.!

– Can!provide!smartphone!app!for!data!logging!if!provided!type!of!data!to!be!collected.!

– Smaller!municipali(es!can!use!free!online!version,!but!data!will!have!to!be!entered!manually.!!

– Manual!process!is!described!in!following!slides.!

Assemble!team!

•  Step!2:!Gather!volunteers!or!staff!to!conduct!a!field!inventory.!–  Individuals!will!visit!each!streetlight!and!record!important!informa(on.!

–  Iden(fy!most!computerDsavvy!individual(s)!to!assemble!and!manage!collected!data!in!spreadsheet!and!upload!into!mapping!sodware.!

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Training!!

Equipment!needed!by!volunteers!

• Smartphone!or!tablet!with!GPS!capability!

DORD!• Auto!nav!system/hiking!GPS!• Digital!camera!

!• Tape!measure!• Ability!to!record!observa(ons!and!keep!track!of!pictures.!

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Data!collec(on!

•  Essen(al!and!easy!to!collect!inventory!info:!– U(lity!pole!number!

– Light!fixture!type!(HPS,!MV)!– Size!of!light!(WaNs)!– GPS!loca(on!or!street!address!– Condi(on!of!equipment!– Pedestrian!ac(vity!and!adjacent!land!use!

Addi(onal!data!

•  Addi(onal!helpful!info:!– Proximity!to!hazards!such!as!high!voltage!lines!– Moun(ng!height!

– Placement!on!pole,!i.e.!u(lity!space!!–  Illuminates!a!sidewalk?!– Pole!type!– Roadway!width!– Length!of!arm!– Pole!distance!from!street!

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U(lity!Pole!number!

•  Pole!tags!are!yellow!and!may!be!ver(cal!or!horizontal.!

•  May!include!leNers!&!numbers!

Light!Fixture!Type!and!Size!

•  Number!is!usually!WaNs!/10!

•  Color!corresponds!to!light!type!

• Yellow:!HPS!• Blue:!MV!• Red:!MH!• White:!LED!

• Examples!!–  70W!HPS!“7”!!–  39W!LED!“39!LED”!

Light!Fixture!Type!and!Size!

• There!are!always!excep(ons,!esp.!older!fixtures.!• Missing!s(ckers!• Just!record!what!you!see.!• 175W!broken!MV!fixture!shown!here!says!“175W,!120V”!if!it!was!blue,!it!has!faded.!

Loca(on!

•  Use!smart!phone!or!auto/personal!naviga(on!system!to!determine!GPS!coordinates.!

•  If!volunteer!does!not!have!ability!to!collect!GPS!data,!street!address!can!be!used!with!Google!maps!to!accurately!pinpoint!light.!

•  If!using!smartphone!app,!loca(on!data!is!collected!automa(cally.!

Equipment!Condi(on!

•  Determining!equipment!condi(on!requires!day!and!night!visits.!

– Day!visit:!• Is!light!on?!(Dayburner)!• Is!fixture!damaged!or!full!of!bugs.!

– Night!visit:!• Is!light!working?!• Does!light!flicker!or!turn!on!and!off?!• Is!light!as!bright!as!most!other!fixtures!with!same!type!and!WaNage?!

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Dayburner!on!Streetview!

Light!placement!and!local!condi(ons!

• If!street!is!not!busy,!road!width!can!be!directly!measured.!

– Alterna(vely,!simply!record!number!of!lanes!and!width!of!shoulder.!

• Other!details!can!be!recorded!by!taking!photos!of!light!and!surrounding!area.!

• Google!Streetview!can!be!useful!to!supplement!these!photos.!

• When!taking!pictures,!carefully!record!which!picture!is!which!streetlight.!

Correc(ng!inventory!data!

•  Volunteers!recorded!data!in!a!spreadsheet!and!crossDreferenced!with!u(lity!data.!

•  Lights!over!driveways!and!parking!lots!are!likely!private!area!ligh(ng.!

•  Some!lights!may!not!exist!or!have!different!fixture!types.!Billing!mistakes!are!common!and!grounds!for!

a!refund.!Contact!u(lity!and!ask!about!specific!

discrepancies.!!!!

Data!Logging!D!The!Easy!Way!

●  Larger!municipali(es!probably!already!have!a!professional!ArcGIS!account.!○  Ask!staff!familiar!with!ArcGIS!to!create!

●  App!will!prompt!volunteer!for!specific!data,!automa(cally!record!loca(on!of!streetlight!visits,!and!keep!track!of!which!pictures!go!with!which!lights.!!

Data!Logging!D!The!Cheap!Way!

●  Volunteers!need!more!training!on!what!data!to!collect!and!report.!

●  System!needed!to!associate!photos!with!each!streetlight/pole.!

●  Suitable!for!towns!with!fewer!streetlights!(a!few!hundred!at!most.)!

●  Data!should!be!collected!and!organized!in!a!spreadsheet!by!volunteers!familiar!with!spreadsheet!sodware.!

Data!Logging!

Lat.% Long.% Pole%% Wa-s% Type%

41.83156! D74.132! 103340! 70! HPS!

41.83184! D74.1337! 103339! 160! MV!

•  Inventory!spreadsheet!should!be!converted!to!semicolon!delimited!.csv!format!Commas!and!semicolons!should!not!be!used!

in!any!spreadsheet!fields.!•  Converted!spreadsheet!can!then!be!uploaded!into!a!free!ArcGIS!account.!

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ArcGIS!

•  Easy!to!use!and!free!sodware!for!organizing!streetlight!field!inventory!data!(hNp://doc.arcgis.com/en/explorer/!).!– Record!keeping.!– Create!streetlight!design.!– Useful!in!communica(ng!with!decisionmakers.!

• Use!“Create!Public!Account”!at!hNps://www.arcgis.com/home/signin.html!!

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!A!benefit!of!collec(ng!this!informa(on!is!the!opportunity!to!re(re!nonessen(al!streetlights.!

Legend%Keep!!Remove!!Remove!per!request!!More!discussion!

Uploading!Data!

Uploading!Data!

Uploading!Data!

And you’re off….

Marbletown!Case!Study!

•  Once!a!GIS!map!of!lights!was!ready,!town!residents!were!asked!for!opinions!on!removing!streetlights.!

•  Many!suggested!lights!to!remove!or!dim.!•  Public!hearings!were!held!to!make!these!decisions.!

•  3!misbilled!streetlights!found,!$5500!recovered!from!u(lity,!22!lights!were!removed,!2!new!LED!lights!added.!

Ques(ons!

Tom!Konrad,!Ph.D.,!CFA®!Chair,!Marbletown!Environmental!Conserva(on!Commission!(volunteer).!Poryolio!Manager,!The!Green!Global!Equity!Income!Poryolio!Editor,!AltEnergyStocks.com!

tom@altenergystocks.com!

Resources!

•  hNp://www.naesco.org/buyersDguide#2!•  hNps://www.nyserda.ny.gov/AllDPrograms/Programs/CleanDEnergyDCommuni(es!

•  hNp://energy.gov/eere/ssl/doeDmunicipalDsolidDstateDstreetDligh(ngDconsor(um!

•  hNp://www.mapc.org/system/files/bids/Retrofit%20Streetlights%20with%20LEDs.pdf!

•  www.arcgis.com!•  hNps://support.google.com/maps/answer/3093484!(Streetview)!

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Marbletown!Case!Study!

•  Marbletown!completed!inventory!of!80!lights!in!3!weeks.!– 5!volunteers!performed!of!data!collec(on;!90%!done!by!2!of!these.!

– Volunteers!spent!an!average!of!20!minutes!at!each!light.!

– Data!entry,!checking,!and!mapping!done!by!single!computerDsavvy!volunteer.!