Lighting Committee

The Town Has Completed Several Energy-Efficient Conversions of Our Street Lights

In cooperation with Pepco, the Town, with input from the Lighting Committee, has completed several energy-efficient conversions of our street lights that have helped reduce our lighting costs while improving service. One conversion occurred in 2011-2012 and another in 2020. These two conversions reduced the Town’s utility costs from approximately $20,000 to $5,000, annually.

Pepco Owns Our Street Lights And Poles

Over the years, we have been able to reduce our lighting costs, but that reduction could be temporary because TWG does not own its street light fixtures and poles; they are currently owned by Pepco.

The Town is on the National Register of Historic Places, and 15 of its spherical street lights are together considered a “historic associated feature”—an important attribute of the historic district’s setting.

 

The Town Needs to Maintain Costs and Preserve the Historic Integrity of Our Lighting

The Town needs to be proactive both to maintain costs and preserve the historic integrity of our lighting. This might include purchasing our own street light fixtures so we can maintain aesthetic and economic control of our lighting and utility needs, and be able to choose our own energy provider/source. Our intention is to take our solid (but dated) street light fixtures and renovate them to modern standards, including dark-sky compliance standards, and incorporating features to prevent light intrusion.

The Town’s old but SOLID Pemco fixtures. The majority of our street lights are Pemco fixtures.  In cooperation with Pepco, we have already converted these fixtures to use LED bulbs. There is room to move the bulb assembly up into the fixture itself, which would make the unit dark-sky compliant.

 

Alternative Lighting for Walkways and Avenues

The Lighting Committee has developed a list of attributes and recommendations.

Major attributes for the Town’s lighting going forward include:

• warm color temperature of no more than 3000k;
• dark-sky compliance;
• different lighting for the streets versus the walkways both in terms of height and fixtures;
• solar lighting;
• smart lighting and more.

The Lighting Committee meets the fourth Wednesday of every month.  All are welcome to join us!

Demonstration bollard walkway lights that were installed around McCathran Hall.