CASE STUDY / WEST RICHLAND
City of West Richland Installs Acuity Brands Smart Street
Lighting Solution – Energy Costs Cut by 61 Percent
DETAILS
Project:
West Richland, Washington
Population 13,000+
Lighting Specifier:
Ameresco, Spokane, Washington
​Lighting Manufacturers:
American Electric Lighting®, Acuity
Controls
Products:
Autobahn ATB0 LED, Autobahn ATB2,
ROAM
The Challenge
The City of West Richland wanted to
upgrade its 1,097 fixture city-owned high
pressure sodium (HPS) street lighting
system to LED and incorporate a control
system to significantly reduce energy and
maintenance costs while improving the
quality of illumination and decreasing
greenhouse gas emissions.
The city hoped the serving utility, Benton
Rural Electric Association, would utilize
the metering capability of the control
system for billing. The control system
selected had to meet the utility’s technical
requirements for metering.
The lighting system installed had to meet
city requirements for greenhouse gas
emissions. The City of West Richland
adopted Resolution 16-10 GHG reduction
policy in 2010. This requires competitive
state infrastructure funding programs to
take into consideration whether the entity
receiving funds has adopted policies to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Ameresco converted 1,097 city-owned
HPS street lights to high performance
American Electric Lighting Autobahn
LED luminaires from Acuity Brands and
a ROAM wireless control system. ROAM,
from Acuity Controls, is a patented
streetlight monitoring system that enables
system owners and operators to remotely
monitor, control and measure luminaire
performance.
© 2015 Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. All rights reserved. | www.acuitybrands.com
The Solution:
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CASE STUDY / WEST RICHLAND
The majority of fixtures are Autobahn
ATB0 LED luminaires used to replace
100-watt and 200-watt HPS fixtures on
residential streets, at mid-block and
intersections. Autobahn ATB2 luminaires
were used to replace 400-watt HPS fixtures
at intersections and all major roadways.
Northwest Edison, Woodinville,
Washington served as Ameresco’s
subcontractor.
Costs and funding
Total project cost was $1,150,765,
including the Autobahn luminaires, the
ROAM control system, ROAM nodes and
all installation & labor expenses.
The City of West Richland received
Benton REA grants totaling $195,000 and
a Washington Department of Commerce
Energy Efficiency grant of $281,937. The
city also has 12-year low interest financing
for the net project cost of $673,828
through the Washington State Treasurer
Local Option Capital Asset Lending
Program.
The Result:
Autobahn luminaires with the ROAM
control system are projected to reduce
annual electric consumption by 61
percent. The lighting system complies
with dark sky specifications and the city
anticipates a reduction in maintenance
costs as well. The Autobahn LED
luminaires also helped the city reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
ROAM enabled the City of West Richland
to move from a flat rate to consumptionbased tariff at $0.072/kWh, reducing the
average cost per kWh by over 26 percent.
The city previously owned the HPS units
and paid a flat rate per fixture to cover
all power and maintenance provided by
Benton REA. The City of Richland now
pays Benton REA for only the power used;
the city is responsible for maintaining the
LED luminaires.
© 2015 Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. All rights reserved. | www.acuitybrands.com
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CASE STUDY / WEST RICHLAND
“Benton REA saw this project as an
opportunity to partner with the City
of West Richland to provide improved
public lighting while conserving energy,”
said Clint Gerkensmeyer, manager,
Benton REA. “The added safety
provided by the new lighting system
and the energy savings to the city will
benefit all residents. As a cooperative,
Benton REA is committed to improving
the communities we serve and bringing
additional value to our member-owners.”
ROAM provides a very flexible,
smart lighting platform for outdoor
installations that allows for multi-level
dimming strategies. Implementing the
right controls strategy can save the city
10 to 20 percent in additional energy
costs through scheduled dusk/dawn
trimming (daylighting for street lights)
and dimming in residential areas.
“It makes good economic and
business sense for the City to
install new LED street lights and a
wireless control system that reduces
energy use by more than 60% while
improving illumination, safety and
addressing dark sky considerations,”
said Brent Gerry, Mayor, City of
West Richland.
In addition to dramatic energy and
maintenance savings, the control system
will also enable us to move to a lower
cost metered rate schedule that provides
further cost reductions.”
Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. One Lithonia Way, Conyers, GA 30012 | 770-922-9000 | www.acuitybrands.com
© 2015 Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. All rights reserved. | 09/15 | AB_2117
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