Upate on Retro Fitting of Public Works Lighting

At the January 18th Public Works Committee meeting, staff presented a proposal from AID Electric to retro fit the lighting at the Public Works campus.  At present time, the buildings at the Public Works campus are lit with a combination of metal halide and T-12 fluorescent fixtures.  The proposal from AID Electric calls for replacing the current fixtures with T-8 fluorescent bulbs and ballasts, with motion sensors attached to some of the fixtures.  The cost for this work would be $16,314.00.  The rebate from Connexus would be $4,871.00 bringing the final cost of the retro fit to $11,443.00.  The estimated pay back rate for the project would be 2.6-8.7 years depending on the building.  After discussion staff was directed to explore the cost to retro fit using LED bulbs.

 

Staff contacted Rob Schiller of Ready Watt Electric for a quote on LED lighting.  Rob and Jonathan Rice of Titan LED came out and inspected the buildings and gathered information for the quote.  The initial quote to retro fit with LED lighting is $47,316.32.  Connexus energy would offer an estimated rebate of $4,768.40, bringing the total cost of the project to $42,547.92.  Estimated payback time would be 90.8 months or 7.56 years.  Mr. Schiller also included a bid to retro fit using fluorescent bulbs.  Initial cost would be $19,747.00 minus Connexus rebate of $4,214.00.  Final cost would be $15,533.00.

 

Maintenance costs T-8 fluorescents:  a quick search on the Internet puts the cost of a replacement T-8 bulb at an estimated $2-$4.00 with an advertised life of 20,000 hours.  Replacement ballasts run about $13.00-$20.00

 

Maintenance costs on an LED system:  Initial cost of 4' LED light/fixture, plus installation $120.62 (Ready Watt Bid Proposal).  Estimated life span of an LED light is 25-30 years, so maintenance on the system after install would be minimal.

 

These facts and figures are very general, but do give some insight into the differences between the two types of lighting systems.

Public Facilities Fund (the projected balance at the end of 2011 is approximatley $128,000.00

Staff recommends that the Public Works Committee recommend to City Council approval of the project and approve contracting with AID Electric for the installation.

Motion to recommend to the City Council approval of the project and approve contracting with AID Electric for installation.