The Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium (MSSLC) seeks to develop an inventory of the nation's street and highway lighting systems, enabling the development of national and local policies and programs to support the implementation of LED streetlights, which will contribute to the nation's conservation efforts and energy security while providing financial benefits to end users. It is estimated the nation's streetlights consume the energy equivalent of 1.9 million households and cost $6-8 billion annually for energy and maintenance, yet conservation efforts in this segment have been limited. Participation by municipalities, utilities and other system owners in this inventory effort will help provide benchmark information needed to form national and local policies which could make local conversion to LED street lighting more attainable.
Current estimates indicate there are about 52.6 million public roadway lights nationwide, which includes 26.5 million streetlights and 26.1 million highway lights. MSSLC seeks to clarify the details of this number through this inventory to help identify the major opportunities for conservation efforts. In 2012, the U.S. Conference of Mayors recognized the conservation potential in this segment and adopted a resolution endorsing the nationwide use of LED street lighting. The national street lighting inventory hopes to capitalize on this momentum.
- To establish a more reliable number of the nation's street lighting inventory
- To develop a clear picture of street lighting ownership models use among public and private owners
- To develop a clear picture of how much energy the nation's streetlights use
Inventory Purpose - To determine the number of PUBLICLY FUNDED street, highway, and area lights that exist within the U.S. These are defined as:
- Roadway Lights - are divided into street lights and highway lights. Streetlights are considered those lights that illuminate local and collector roads, while highway lights illuminate interstates, freeways, and expressways.
- Area Lights - are those lights that illuminate various outdoor areas such as landscapes, walkways and common spaces. These areas may include parks, publicly funded parking lots and other outdoor areas.
Thank you for your assistance in providing your street lighting information for this effort. There are 20 total questions, with four of them being demographics. It is estimated this will take 12-15 minutes.