File photo.

At the June meeting Council endorsed the acceptance of Inland Power Solutions to install the lighting at Roberts Park and Harden Pool. This endorsement included the variation to hinged poles. Further, Council requested that consideration of using LED luminaires as a replacement for the HID luminaires.

In line with this recommendation, staff have commenced activities to understand cost associated with the change from HID to LED. The cost increase associated with this change is $140,000. This cost increase is made up from:

1. More expensive and additional light heads

2. More robust pole design

3. Additional install and cabling works Each of these items are discussed in more detailed below. Due to the increases in cost the projects contingency of $50,000 would be exhausted through the switch to LED, and required $90,000 of additional funding.

The recommendation is, “That Council: (a) Note the report and status of the Roberts Park Project; (b) That Council continue with the installation of HID luminaires at Roberts Park and Harden Pool; and (c) That Council continue with the installation of the tilt poles for ease of luminaire replacement. 

A review of the power savings of LED vs HID highlighted that the LED lights could save Council $500 per month (accounting for replacement of globes every 5 years and power savings). This would mean that it would take approximately 25 years for the switch to LEDs to become cost neutral. After this point the savings would need to generate enough revenue to cover the total replacement of all LED heads, as when failure occurs the complete LED head needs to be replaced and not just globes (approximately an additional 16 years).

According to Council, “In order to achieve the required lighting levels, in line with the relevant Australian Standards, additional heads per pole are required. These results in an increase of $95,000. This cost increase is made up of additional cost per head, and the additional number of heads.”

It states, “The LED heads are each around 20kg heavier than the HID heads, and more are required. This has meant that the previously quoted pole is not able to be accommodated. Additionally, due to the extra weight hinged poles would no longer an option. The increase in cost due to the poles is included in the additional cabling cost below. Should Council continue with the HID luminaires then the hinged tilt poles will provide a significant saving in future maintenance costs. IT also means that it is easier to replace 1 or 2 light heads rather having to wait for a number of heads to need replacement to justify the $5,000 cost of bring a crane with a man bucket from Wagga.”

Further to this Council states, “With the increase in numbers of LED lights, additional cables per pole (compared to HID) needs to be installed (approximately 1km of cable per pole). This is anticipated to cost an additional $45,000. “