Smart-energy-focused research firm says that 95%of the municipalities in the US that have installed SSL street lights are satisfied with the results.

Northeast Group has published a study entitled"United States smart infrastructure:LED and smart street lighting"that is based on interviews with more than 100 municipalities that have installed LED-based street lights.The smart-energy-focused research firm found that 95%of the municipalities are pleased with the overall performance of the solid-state lighting(SSL),and that on average the municipalities are realizing a 60%savings in combined energy and maintenance costs.

LED and smart street-light forecast

The satisfaction rating applies both to municipality officials and citizens and include both performance and the lighting quality.Moreover,the study notes that law-enforcement and public-safety officials were especially pleased with improved visibility.

Looking forward,the Northeast Group expects technology advancements to provide additional energy savings.Specifically,adaptive controls and dimming could reduce energy usage an additional 20-30%.

The bad news may be in the area of funding.The study reports that 45%of the municipalities surveyed used funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA)to pay for essentially the entire street-light project.An additional 36%used ARRA funding or other grants to finance a portion of their project.

For the most part ARRA funding is gone with the exception of a few projects currently underway.Fortunately,SSL prices are dropping,making the LED-based lighting more affordable and payback periods shorter.

Northeast Group also projected that"the LED and smart street lighting markets are expected to reach a cumulative$4.7 billion in the US by 2025."Clearly there is still a lot of opportunity in the market segment.The study said that most municipalities that have installed LED lights have done so in a small percentage of their street light inventory.Cumulatively in the US,the study says that the penetration rate of LED street lights is still less than 1%.But there are a lot of companies chasing the market with the study identifying more than 25 active manufacturers.