Located adjacent to the Phoenix metropolis, the City of Tempe, Arizona boasts a rich Southwestern history, shaped by Native American and Hispanic culture and influences. Today, Tempe is a bustling Southern Arizona college town complete with tourism, shopping, dining, entertainment and nightlife to appeal to its growing population of nearly 175,000 residents. In 2011, US Lighting Tech was selected by Tempe city leadership to provide Phase One of a new energy efficient street lighting installation for the municipality. The initiative, which is still in progress, will replace the City’s existing older street lighting units.

Background and Execution:
USLT participated in the first round but did not win because of the higher price of its systems which utilized Sylvania products. The city, however, decided to reopen the bid for round two. For the second round, Tempe utilized a weighted scoring system of price, quality and experience. Using the new scoring system, Tempe selected USLT from among 18 competitors, to complete the contract based on USLT’s product quality, high return on investment (ROI), and solution-oriented service ethic.

USLT began the Tempe street relighting project in July 2011, providing 1,000 of its proprietary Cobra 100 Series Induction Streetlights. USLT’s 70 watt Cobra 100 Series Induction Streetlight will replace Tempe’s outdated 125 watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide systems – to provide better, more efficient light output. Both of these older technologies offer significantly less energy efficiency than USLT induction and are far more costly to maintain.

Specific Challenges and Solutions:
The City of Tempe is located in one of the most arid and hot geographical locations in the U.S. The Arizona desert experiences temperature extremes of up to 115 degrees during summer days and cold, sub-freezing temperatures during the winter nights. After evaluating the two leading street lighting platforms of induction and Light Emitting Diode, or LED, Tempe ruled out LED for its high equipment cost, but also for its performance volatility in the temperature extremes of the southern Arizona environment. USLT induction’s superior quality light spectrum, energy efficiency and extended life cycle – along with its ability to operate in extreme climates – clearly made it the superior choice for this installation.

Overall Benefits:
Tempe’s experience should be used to help municipalities around the country leverage a weighted scoring that emphasizes quality and performance as well as price. This scenario illustrates the major difference between price (bid) and cost (true cost of ownership). The longevity and quality of USLT products are what ultimately drive the return on investment from this type of an upgrade. Once the project is completed, USLT induction will potentially save the City up to 40 percent in energy costs, and virtually eliminate the need for continual street lamp maintenance over the next decade. The end result: A major dollar savings for budget conscious Arizona taxpayers – and a new street lighting network for Tempe that will produce far greater energy efficiency for the City’s infrastructure managers.