The Indian city has famously suffered from lengthy blackouts in its history, severely affecting its residents’ personal lives and professional endeavours. Now in a bid to rectify these problems and significantly cut energy costs; Mumbai is turning the LED lighting.
Plans are in place to replace all of the streetlights in Mumbai with LED technology to increase the reliability of light produced in the city. Officials are currently checking the stability of the LED lights in extreme weather conditions, particularly heavy rainfall, hoping that the improved technology will completely remove the risk of city-wide blackouts.
Another major advantage of the installation of the LED lighting throughout Mumbai is the reduced energy costs that it will incur. LED technology produces incredibly energy efficient lights, ensuring that a high quality of light is produced with a smaller amount of energy used. The average 8 watt LED bulb emits the same amount of light as a 65 watt halogen bulb, making the former more than 8 times as energy efficient as the latter.
This increased energy efficiency can manifest itself as great savings for the city. It has been estimated that the conversion to LED lighting could saving the city up to 40% on its energy bills. In a city the size of Mumbai, this could free up a significant amount of money to re-invest elsewhere, such as the implementation of lighting in areas that have previously been left in the dark.
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One of the officials in charge of the LED lighting implementation, Om Prakesh Gupta revealed: "We have begun the pilot project on LED lights in a few wards which may be replicated across the city soon. The lights will be brighter and will help during late night travel and the same will be replicated across the city very soon."
Gupta has also suggested that the brighter lights and greater total coverage could lead to a decrease in crime occurring in the areas of Mumbai where there is not sufficient lighting coverage. These areas are often targeted by criminals due to the increased chances of remaining unseen in the darkened areas. Gupta has claimed: "The LED will also be brighter lights and it will help citizens during late night travel."
Being the World's fourth most populous city, space has long been an issue for Mumbai. The new LED technology allows the lighting to be controlled from two small centralised power substations.
Many of the World's largest and most influential cities have started to invest in LED technology in their street lights, with Los Angeles recently replacing all of their street lights with LED lights. The operation to replace all of the city’s street lights will save Los Angeles an estimated $7m every year in energy costs as well as an additional $2.5m in avoided maintenance costs.
Astute Lighting director, Anwar Adam, is not surprised that the World is embracing LED technology and the great savings that it can help produce. "Having worked with electronics and LED lighting for more than a decade, I have witnessed first-hand the increased reliability of the bulbs and the incredible energy efficiency that they provide. Not only can homeowners and business owners save fantastic amounts of money, but whole cities are demonstrating the massive potential of this technology."
It is thought that officials from some of the other most populous cities in the World including Shanghai, Istanbul, Moscow and Sao Paulo will be keeping a close eye on how the LED streetlights perform and how much money it saves Mumbai.
