Boston's Municipal Energy Efficiency Upgrades: A Case Study on LED Retrofitting
Technology Category
- Sensors - Optical Sensors
- Sensors - Utility Meters
Applicable Industries
- Buildings
- Renewable Energy
Applicable Functions
- Facility Management
- Maintenance
Use Cases
- Smart City Operations
- Smart Lighting
About The Customer
The customer in this case study is the City of Boston, a municipal government in the United States. The city is committed to achieving carbon neutrality and has implemented various initiatives to achieve this goal. One of these initiatives is the Renew Boston Trust (RBT), a self-funding finance mechanism that uses the cost savings from efficiency projects to pay for themselves. The city has a large inventory of exterior lighting, including streetlights, traffic lights, athletic field and park lights, and school department security lighting. The city is also responsible for the energy efficiency of its public buildings, including schools, police stations, and property management facilities. The city has a budget for these initiatives and has allocated funds for the continuation of these projects.
The Challenge
The City of Boston, under the leadership of Mayor Michelle Wu, was faced with the challenge of aligning its municipal operations with its carbon neutrality goals. The city had an inventory of 80,000 streetlights and other exterior lighting fixtures that were not energy efficient. The city's Renew Boston Trust (RBT), a self-funding finance mechanism, was tasked with the responsibility of converting all electric lighting to efficient LED fixtures. The city had already released a request for qualifications in July 2021 and selected the contractor Ameresco, Inc to conduct an audit of the exterior lighting. The audit involved recording the location, technology, condition, and other relevant data of the exterior lighting over a period of six months. The city also had to develop energy conservation measures to reduce the amount of electricity and natural gas used by the city’s streetlights, traffic lights, athletic field and park lights, and school department security lighting.
The Solution
The city of Boston decided to conduct an initial audit of the exterior lighting as the first step in the process. The data collected from the audit was used to develop energy conservation measures designed to reduce the amount of electricity and natural gas used by the city’s streetlights, traffic lights, athletic field and park lights, and school department security lighting. The work to improve the efficiency of the fixtures was implemented in stages over several years. The city allocated $10.0 million in capital funds for this stage of the Renew Boston Trust project. The city also embarked on the third phase of the RBT building energy efficiency program, which involved conducting lighting improvements, water conservation, building envelope improvements, and pipe insulation upgrades in nine Boston Public Schools, one police station, and one property management facility. The city's FY23 budget contained $65 million in City capital funds for the continuation of Phase III of the RBT program.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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