Barnet Council will install LED lanterns in all its streetlights as part of an improvements programme that will also save £750,000 per year and improve the borough’s carbon footprint.
Councillor Dean Cohen, Chair of the Environment Committee, stands beneath one of the new LED lanterns.
The new LED lighting will provide a better and brighter source of white light for pedestrians and motorists. Colours will appear more distinguishable so that objects look sharper and clearer at night, making the night time environment more attractive, and making it easier to drive safely.
The new LED lighting will be more directional, concentrating light into the road and footway so that less light pollution reaches residents’ homes and gardens. They will also make it easier for CCTV cameras to pick up clear images of people’s faces after dark, improving the security of the borough.
The council will cut over 3,500 kilowatts per hour from its energy consumption after the new street lighting has been installed – a significant reduction to its carbon footprint.
In addition, the new LED lanterns will have smart controls with functions that include an alert system to provide advanced notification when a streetlight is not functioning properly.
The major phase of the conversion programme will begin in mid-November, though a small number of LED lanterns have already been installed in the High Barnet area. The remainder will be installed on a ward-by-ward basis across the borough’s 26,000 streetlights, with work expected to be finished by the end of October 2020.
Councillor Dean Cohen, Chair of the Environment Committee, said: “These lights will improve our street lighting, save us money and help us become more environmentally friendly as a council. I am very impressed with what I have seen of them so far, and I can’t wait for them to be rolled out across the whole borough!”
Close-up of one of our new LED lanterns.