Ariel photo taken at night showing new LED white lighting around Coppins Bridge with old orange lights of prison estate visible in the background

Street lighting

We know that street lighting is very important to residents, businesses, and visitors alike. Good reliable lighting not only makes it safer for road-users and pedestrians, but also supports crime detection and reducing the fear of crime.

However, lighting is one of the biggest consumers of energy and therefore one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. To minimise this, Island Roads have been working since April 2013 to replace the 12,068 existing streetlights across the Island converting the lights to energy-saving LED lamps. This work was completed at the end of March 2015.

What are the benefits?

This work has helped free up public service funds by reducing energy costs and, due to the efficient nature of LED lighting, they are also more reliable and require less maintenance once installed, meaning less lights out and disruption on your street.

Since we started installing the new lighting, we have seen a reduction in carbon emissions associated with streetlights from 2,749 tonnes in 2013/14 to 249 tonnes in 2019/20. (Figures are tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum calculated from energy provider information) This aligns with the reduction in energy used down from 5,081,973 kilowatt hours in 2013/14 to 906,321 in 2019/20 produced by the installation of the LED lamps.

Island Roads also ensure that the energy used to power the Islands streetlights is bought through a green energy tarrif which requires our energy provider to source the equivalent quantity of energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind.

How are the lights controlled?

Island Roads operates a central management system which allows us to control the lighting levels and the times when lighting is on for individual streets. This helps us to continue to improve energy consumption and curb carbon emissions, while also providing street lighting that meets the needs of individual towns and villages balanced with the need to respect the “Dark Skies” commitments in place to protect the Island’s unique environment.

Read about other lighting services (pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, powered signs, bollards and electric vehicle charging).

Photo credit: Darren Vaughan