/ Modified feb 5, 2015 7:57 a.m.

Tucson Looking to Replace Street Lights With LED

Phoenix putting 90,000 energy-efficient bulbs in place; Tucson plans to start in 6 months.

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Compared with the job Phoenix has ahead of it, replacing Tucson’s 20,000 street lights will seem easy.

Both cities are planning to replace their current high-pressure sodium bulbs with LED bulbs, which are significantly longer lasting than what is used now in most cities.

Phoenix will replace 90,000 bulbs in a plan city officials announced Wednesday. Tucson will release its plan in about six months, said city Transportation Director Darrell Cole.

Cole said LED bulbs will save the city money over time.

“The technology is evolving so quickly now," Cole said. "It’s a much better product than it was 10 years ago.”

LED stands for light emitting diode, which is a semi-conductor that does not use a gas or a filament, as do traditional light bulbs and fluorescent lights.

Cole said the city wants to install LED bulbs that will be better for viewing the night sky, an important part of the city’s compliance with dark sky mandates intended to protect the region's extensive astronomy studies.

“Better for seeing the stars in an observatory as well as those dark sky compliance issues that we have," he said.

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