Mercury Vapor Lighting Replacement Program

Mercury Vapor Lighting

Mercury Vapor lights were the first commonly-installed type of high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting, dating back to the 1960’s. Mercury vapor refers to the type of gas within the bulb that produces the light. HID lighting is commonly used where high lighting levels are required. Newer HID lighting types include High-Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide, which are more energy efficient. For example, a 100-watt high-pressure sodium light provides 16% more light and uses 43% less energy than its mercury vapor counterpart.

Allegheny Power’s Mercury Vapor Replacement Program

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandates that mercury vapor lamp ballasts shall not be manufactured or imported after January 1, 2008, and additional regulations regarding the manufacturing of mercury vapor lamps will completely eliminate their availability by 2011. These regulations are designed to promote energy efficiency and conservation with lighting installations.

Allegheny Power proposes to replace individual customer mercury vapor lights as each fixture fails. By transitioning these lights to more energy efficient types, together we will maximize the energy efficiency and conservation benefits while providing continued lighting service to our customers.

This initiative is in conjunction with our new energy conservation program called: “Watt Watchers: Use Energy Wisely,” which is aimed at helping our customers learn more about saving energy and money. Through Allegheny’s Mercury Vapor Replacement Program, we anticipate energy savings of more than 25,000,000 kWh’s annually, which is enough to power 2,100 homes, and equivalent to the emissions of more than 3,300 cars.

Lighting Options

Allegheny Power offers several alternate lighting types to replace mercury vapor lighting. High-pressure sodium lighting, which has a candle-like color, is the most energy efficient option we offer (on a watts-to-lumens basis). Its cost is comparable to mercury vapor. If a direct, white light is desired, we offer metal halide lighting.

The physical appearance of both lighting equipment options is the same as mercury vapor. We offer the high-pressure sodium in an open lens luminaire (OL) style, and both high-pressure sodium and metal halide in cobra head, shoebox, colonial and decorative styles.

Operating Costs

Allegheny Power’s lighting rates are established based on the cost of buying, installing, maintaining and replacing the lighting equipment. Since mercury vapor lights are the oldest type of HID lighting, the equipment cost is low. However, high-pressure sodium is now the most commonly installed light and is much more energy efficient so its total cost has dropped to the point where it is now very competitive with its mercury vapor counterpart. Metal halide lights are the most expensive, primarily because of their increased maintenance cycle.

For more information, call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-Allegheny (1-800-255-3443).