Pittsburgh city council gives LEDs the green light

The city of Pittsburgh held a city council meeting on Wednesday night and passed a preliminary approval of the integration of an LED street light grid. The code agreed on by the council members sets technical requirements for illumination to ensure that streets throughout the city receive an even distribution of the energy-efficient lights, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"It's a long time coming," councilman Bill Peduto told the news source. "We want the project to be completed by February 2012."

Pittsburgh has about 40,000 streetlights and the council estimates that the new LED lighting grid will save the city close to $110,000 in the business district alone.

"Pittsburgh spends about $1.1 million annually to power the 40,000 lights. The installation of LED lights should save at least $600,000 a year," Jim Sloss, Pittsburgh's energy and utilities manager, told the news source.

LED lighting has spread into decorative and functional home use as well. An LED rigid light bar is perfect for a home office and will provide an energy-efficient way to illuminate your work space.