Streetlights may stay on longer in particular areas as the county council is set to agree new guidance on part-night street lighting.
Most of Hertfordshire’s streetlights are switched off between 1am and 5am to reduce carbon emissions and reduce the county’s electricity bill.
However, with most of Hertfordshire’s street lights now converted to more efficient LED lights with a central control system, it is now possible to dim lights and modify timings in specific areas, allowing more flexibility in the way we make savings.
The county council is planning to introduce a process to allow some lights to be kept on later, with the lights staying on until 2am and coming back on dimmed between 5am and 6am.
Mark Kemp, Director of Environment and Infrastructure, said:
“Switching lights off in the early hours of the morning is reducing our carbon footprint and saving taxpayers money. However, with more efficient LED lights and intelligent control systems we can make some of these savings by dimming lights instead.
This means that if there are good reasons to leave the lights on longer in specific areas, and the local county councillor supports it, we may now be able to do this without increasing our energy usage.”
Council officers have been tasked with developing criteria to determine which streetlights should have their timing and intensity changed.