Beginning the week of April 27, 2020, the Town of Mattapoisett will be replacing all of the town’s overhead streetlights with 370 new Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights.
These new LED lights will use approximately 65 percent less electricity than the current fixtures, further reducing the municipality’s greenhouse gas emissions. The new streetlights will also last four times longer than current bulbs and, unlike the current bulbs, the LED streetlights contain no mercury, which is highly toxic if not disposed of properly.
LED streetlights also produce less light than the current fixtures; however, a person’s ability to perceive objects by the LED streetlights will be an improvement over the current technology. This is because the spectrum of light provided by LED light is more compatible with human vision. Therefore, less light is needed to provide the same level of clarity. This is particularly true when compared to the yellow light produced by high-pressure sodium lamps that comprise the bulk of the town’s current streetlights. The new LED lamps will not waste any light skyward. Light will instead be directed closer to where it is needed. Light from the LED streetlights make colors look brighter and “truer” to natural color. Trees look green instead of brown, a blue car looks blue instead of grey. Due to this improved color rendition, things appear brighter and sharper under LEDs which is why police and other safety personnel prefer LEDs.
LEDs last far longer than existing High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlights. The new LED fixtures are rated to maintain at least 70 percent of their light output for 100,000 hours, which is approximately 20 years.
The project is scheduled to be completed in June 2020.