High-traffic areas in Oviedo will receive a major LED lighting upgrade in the coming weeks following the approval of an agreement with Duke Energy.
A total of 809 exterior and interior lights in areas such as City Hall, the Oviedo Sports Complex and Oviedo Gymnasium and Aquatic Facility will be upgraded and replaced as part of a 10-Year Energy Efficiency program, which features the usage of LED lighting equipment.
As previously reported by OCN, the plan was originally brought to the city’s Sustainability Task Force on Aug. 8 before it was unanimously approved as Resolution 4448-24 at the April 15 City Council meeting.
Paul Belden, Oviedo’s Recreation and Parks director, said while there are multiple benefits to the lighting upgrade, the plan also helps the city keep sustainability practices in mind.
“We’re looking at energy cost savings and reducing our maintenance costs, but also being more environmentally conscious out there as far as the types of lighting systems we’re using,” Belden said.
Mayor Megan Sladek said the improvements are also needed due to the condition of some of the current lighting and fixtures in place.
“Most of it is just energy-guzzling stuff and it was nearing the end of its life anyway, so it’s just really lucky timing,” Sladek said. “This is about the best outcome we could have, [which] is to come up with something that’s lower cost to maintain and just sucks less energy from the grid.”
Issues with exterior lighting work, in areas such as Center Lake Park in particular, were a part of the initial push for the program, Belden said.
“We were really looking at the Center Lake Park streetlights as one of the main components of this project and that kind of spun into other facilities to include with the upgrades,” Belden said. “But there is an overall saving that we felt was going to cover the cost of the program.”
According to OCN’s previous reporting, the analysis by Duke Energy One determined that the cost of the program would equal the monthly savings estimate of $1,783 and would effectively result in a “net-zero cost change to the city.”
The timeframe of the approved agreement with Duke Energy One is 10 years, which will result in an estimated net savings of $62,138 for the city due to the program’s usage.
Sladek said the money saved from the program doesn’t result in a “sudden, liberated cash flow stream”, but will result over time.
“It’s money that in the future won’t have to be expended … so these savings, they are going to be absorbed just in other everyday stuff,” Sladek said.
Belden offered a similar sentiment and said the savings will be made apparent as the program starts its first year.
“This has been a long process and staff has definitely been interested in starting the program with the contractor and kicking it off,” Belden said. “Hopefully within the next year, we’ll definitely start seeing the savings that’ve been generated because of the program.”
In terms of maintenance, Belden said the upkeep of the lighting will fall “a little bit to both” the city and the contractor.
“We’ll be paying monthly maintenance costs for this project for these locations and what that covers is if a bulb or a fixture does go out, then we actually notify the contractor to come out and assess,” Belden said. “Staff still performs inspections of the lights and makes sure that they’re all working, but we would initiate the phone call to the contractor to come out and assess after that.”
Staff is currently working on the purchase order to be issued so that they may start the project within the next four to five weeks, Belden said, plus another six to eight weeks to install the new equipment before the program finally takes full effect.
As it moves forward and takes the city closer to meeting its plan for 100% renewable energy by 2050, Sladek said she’s glad to make any progress.
“I’m just glad we’re taking some steps, even if it’s not a particularly huge step, to try to get a little bit more efficient,” Sladek said.
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