The existing inefficient lighting fixtures were illuminating the streets throughout neighbourhoods of Tucson. Because the lighting was costing the city in both maintenance and energy costs, officials applied for and received approximately $425,000 for a total upgrade to LED lighting. After reviewing and testing several manufacturers' luminaire products, officials ultimately chose to replace the fixtures with Cooper Lighting's OVH LED Cobrahead luminaire. In addition to the cost savings these luminaires would offer, the city officials preferred the fixture's design and the lighting performance quality it would offer the neighbourhood streets.

Immediately after converting to LED luminaires, the city began to see the savings. As of today, Tucson has saved approximately $3,000 monthly in electricity costs and officials expect to see at least $30,000 in savings over the course of the year.

"Residents and decision makers alike can see the improvement in lighting in our streets," said Ernie Encinas, Transportation Superintendent for the City ofTucson. "The advantages that LEDs offer are unquestionable, from better visibility to lowered maintenance requirements. Most importantly, the city is seeing significant savings in energy costs because the Cooper Lighting luminaires run with significantly more efficiency than our previous street lights, and we did not sacrifice light quality to achieve those savings."

The Streetworks OVH LED Cobraheads were designed to provide superior optical performance and outstanding versatility for area and roadway applications, like the neighborhood street lighting in Tucson. Cooper's patent pending modular Lightbar technology delivers uniform illumination to walkways, parking lots, and roadways, and offers energy savings from 30-75% over standard H.I.D sources found in most of these applications.

Incorporating this unmatched modular optical technology, the LED luminaires' unique application-specific design allows lumen and energy output to be customised to fulfill the exact needs of the outdoor space - eliminating wasted energy or obtrusive spill light into neighbouring areas. The luminaires have a 50,000+ hour rated life, which is six times longer than typical metal halide sources found today.

"Our Cooper Lighting representative was engaged throughout the installation of the luminaires, remaining flexible to ensure the project was completed efficiently. Cooper was able to deliver the LED Cobraheads in phases, allowing the contractor to install incrementally without the need for storage of the 600 lighting fixtures as the installation proceeded," continued Encinas.

"We are pleased that the City of Tucson recognised the many advantages of our LED lighting products," said Mark Eubanks, President of Cooper Lighting. "Cooper Lighting is always striving to ensure that our customers meet their energy cost savings goals, and it is rewarding to know that Tucson is doing just that with the help of our Streetworks OVH LED Cobrahead luminaires."