Raleigh, NC is experimenting with LEDs, or light emitting diodes, to see how much money – and energy – the city can save.
So far, based on initial results from a bulb swap-out in a downtown parking garage, city officials determined that the pay-back of the replacement will be two years.
LED lamps cost more than the conventional, high-pressure sodium lights currently used, so the upfront costs in making the switch is high. However, since LEDs consume less electricity and don't need to be replaced as often the city will save money in utility bills and in maintenance costs.
The next pilot project for LEDs in Raleigh are the streetlights. After that the city hopes to change over the lights in the rest of their seven parking garages. If that proves successful other public hot-spots would include schools, parks and stadiums.
When taking into account that many public places have twenty-four hour lighting, the savings could really add up.
Other things that have gone the way of LED – the New Years ball in New York City's Times Square, neon, Christmas lights, and headlights in a few makes of Audi and Lexus (via TreeHugger).