Cropsey Commercial Waterfronts
Who really pays and benefits?
Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I have to admit when I am wrong.
Earlier this year I noticed a charge on my monthly electrical bill that I had seen before, but had forgotten what it was for. Specifically, it was on my New Hampshire Electric Cooperative bill that I include in my common area and maintenance (CAM) calculations. The line item was LT17X and listed as a delivery charge. There were two of these charges.
Well, I had a little time, so I called to find out just what these two items were for which the costing was $33.75 each per month. Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up. That’s $810.00 per year! Yes, almost a grand in all!
It turns out that they were for LED streetlights that were mounted on light poles on each front corner of my property. The streetlights themselves were indeed LED upon inspection. However, they were mounted in such a way that my neighbors received as much or more light from them than my property did. Remember that these lights were mounted at the corners of my property. With property setback lines and side lot setbacks and my newer structures located in the middle of the property, but my neighbor’s older structures being located closer to the property lines than mine, the nighttime cone of illumination definitely benefited my neighbors businesses at the detriment to mine.
Upon completing my research, I determined that that was not always the case. Prior to the installation of the downcast LED fixtures, I had had pole mounted lights with hemispherical reflecting cones directed on my buildings to the benefit of my businesses. These lights actually were charged out at the same rate as the LED’s so I didn’t notice any movement in my monthly expenses.
The electric utility responded to my inquiry to rotate the LED’s so as to benefit my buildings and the businesses that occupied them with a resounding, ‘NO, cannot be done.’ Apparently, the design does not allow the head of the fixture to be angled. However, I could pay for them to be mounted more on a forty-five degree angle to the road on my side of the poles rather than the perpendicular mounted that existed. The cost to do so, which was mostly labor by the way, was something like $400.
Alternatively, I could replace the lights with fixtures of my own, angled the way I wanted them to the benefit of illuminating my buildings to the benefit of my tenants, and have the streetlights removed. There was actually no cost to having the streetlights removed. On the other hand the cost of the replacement fixtures, three of them, plus boxes and wiring was $576.74 and the labor portion with bucket truck was $375.00. The total would be $951.74. As a payback period that would equal about 14 months, or an 86% return on my money.
Three lights were required to replace the two streetlights because of the location I chose. Naturally, the utility would not allow me to install anything on their poles. However, I did have an illuminated sign located almost dead center on the property. I angled one light to the right, the other to the left and one right down the middle.
Some of you have thought of a very pertinent question. Was the light output the same? I had selected the RAB FFLED18. They use 23 watts per hour each while producing 2,310 lumens. The utility fixture uses 52 watts per hour each while producing 5,196 lumens. On the initial examination, the replacement comes up short (6,930 Lumens versus 10,392 Lumens or about a third less). However, half of the lumens benefited my neighbors, so, in actuality, the replacement is a third better or more. These replacement heads can be angled, so the lumens fall exactly where I want them not at the edges of my property where I don’t.
There’s another benefit as well. Instead of being on during all nighttime hours like the streetlights, these replacements would be on timers. I already had security lights I was paying for that were on during all nighttime hours. The last businesses there close at 2300 hours. The lights go off at 2400 hours. On average over a year’s span, the replacement lights will be on for 4.5 hours each day. That’s a total of 113.333 kWh per year. My electrical rate at that margin is 8.3 cents per kWh. My cost is an incredible $9.41 per year!
Not that it really matters, but curiosity got the better of me and I calculated just how much the Co-op’s operational costs were. HMMMM…$28.36 per year because their lights are on all night. I don’t begrudge them making some $775 per year at my expense, but I’d rather keep that money. I think you would too!
My local YESCO Sign representative, Rick Nichols, helped design and install this system. He had confirmed that it would literally cost just a handful of dollars a year to operate should I make the switch. You can call his YESCO Sign office at 1-603-238-6988. His website is: http://www.yesco.com/concordnh/
. Please use this link for his email:
Oh, yes, what was my mistake? I got cheap and wanted the job done NOW. I should have ordered a different RAB product that threw more lumens despite the fact that I might now have as much as $20 in annual operating costs instead of just $9.41!