City of Boston Gets Brighter and Greener with New Philips LED Street Lights

BURLINGTON, Mass., July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents of Boston will be seeing the city in a whole new, brighter light thanks to new light-emitting diode (LED) street lighting from Philips. Improving the city's energy use and environmental footprint, more than 14,000 mercury-vapor street and roadway luminaires are being replaced in Boston neighborhoods by Philips Hadco's New RX1 and RX2. The LED's – which maximize energy savings and provide uniform, comfortable and aesthetically-pleasing white light – are expected to save the city approximately 8.9 million kilowatt hours of energy each year, yielding a savings of about $1.1 million annually in the cost of electricity.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110726/CL41297-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110726/CL41297-b )

"With these new LED street lights, Boston continues to live up to its reputation as one of the greenest cities in the country," said Mayor Menino.  "Not only do these lights help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they also save the City money in tough economic times. We're excited to add these aesthetic and durable lighting fixtures to our streets!" 

The RX1 is based on the Philips LEDGINE LED platform, which features industry-leading LUXEON LEDs and a modular approach which allows for future upgrades as the technology advances.  The new lighting will help eliminate more than 5,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and enable Boston to further its billing as the "3rd Greenest City in North America" according to Popular Science magazine. The project also coincides with the release of the City's updated climate action plan, "A Climate of Progress," which calls for reducing citywide greenhouse gas emissions 25-percent by 2020.

"Boston is among a growing group of environmentally and fiscally responsible cities that understand the long-term benefits of adopting innovative lighting technologies such as LED," said Zia Eftekhar, chief executive officer of Philips Lighting North America. "Philips has a rich history in the Boston area and we are proud to share the city's commitment to sustainability by contributing to its green efforts with our RX1 LED street lighting system."

Designed to last for about 18 years, or four times longer than the lamps they are replacing, the Philips Hadco RX1 and RX2 LEDGINE luminaires are also expected to generate considerable savings in maintenance costs for the city. They are mercury-free and are available in multiple color temperatures.

"Philips Hadco delivered on everything we were looking for – from energy savings and outage reductions to enhanced visibility and improved light uniformity," said Glenn Cooper, associate electrical engineer, Street Lighting Division, city of Boston. "This investment in LED lighting is aesthetically, environmentally and economically beneficial, a combination that all taxpayers can appreciate."

Installation is expected to be complete in December 2011.  Philips Hadco worked with Hurry Associates on this project.

For more information on Philips Hadco lighting systems, please visit www.hadco.com.

For further information, please contact:
Silvie Casanova,
Senior Manager, Lighting Communications,
Philips Electronics North America
Ph: 781-418-7928
Email: [email protected]

About City of Boston

Boston, first incorporated as a town in 1630, and as a city in 1822, is one of America's oldest cities, with a rich economic and social history. the economic and cultural hub of New England. As the region's hub, Boston is home to over 617,000 residents, many institutions of higher education, some of the world's finest inpatient hospitals, and numerous cultural and professional sports organizations. Visit www.cityofboston.gov.

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs about 117,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.3 billion in 2010, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

SOURCE Royal Philips Electronics