Chicago has released a request for information (RFI) on a Smart Lighting Project, planning a switch to LED lighting and considering a centralized management system that would enable other services, according to LEDs Magazine.
The primary goal is to convert most of the outdoor lighting in the city to LEDs. The Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) said that the city has 384,000 lights on streets, alleys, viaducts, pathways and on the lake front. No taxpayer money will be used in the switchover.
The city hopes that the smart lighting project will provide the base structure for other services. For example, San Diego used a project by GE Lighting to create a smart parking service.
The new LEDs will be significantly more energy efficient than the city's current sodium vapor lights, and marks a positive step forward for a city that produces more light pollution than any other city in the world, according to a study from the University of Colorado (via the Chicagoist).
Another large LED project in the works is one in India that, during the next two years, will see the installation of as many as 35 million LEDs, according to an article last week in Energy Manager Today. The project could cut energy demand from 3,400 MW to 1,400 MW.