City of Tucson Selects Cooper Lighting LED Streetlights to Meet Energy Efficiency Goals

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga., March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With hundreds of low pressure sodium (LPS) luminaires throughout the city of Tucson, Arizona, requiring significant maintenance and consuming substantial energy to operate, city officials made the decision to replace the lighting fixtures with energy-efficient LED luminaires from Cooper Lighting, a division of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE). Choosing Cooper Lighting's Streetworks™ OVH LED Cobrahead luminaires, the city replaced approximately 600 fixtures to reduce costs as part of an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-funded project.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110317/DA67171)

The existing inefficient lighting fixtures were illuminating the streets throughout neighborhoods 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 neighborhood 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 of Tucson. "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 customized to fulfill the exact needs of the outdoor space – eliminating wasted energy or obtrusive spill light into neighboring 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 recognized 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."

Cooper Lighting offers a range of indoor and outdoor LED lighting products and corresponding accessories, all of which are specifically designed to maximize energy and cost savings.  For additional information, visit www.cooperlighting.com/led.

About Cooper Lighting

Cooper Lighting, a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE), is the leading provider of innovative, high quality interior and exterior lighting fixtures and related products to worldwide commercial, industrial, retail, institutional, residential and utility markets. As lighting technologies have advanced over the years, Cooper Lighting has been at the forefront of the industry in helping businesses and communities leverage the latest technologies to improve efficiency, reduce costs and enrich the quality of the environment. For more information, visit www.cooperlighting.com.

About Cooper Industries

Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) is a global electrical products manufacturer with 2010 revenues of $5.1 billion. Founded in 1833, Cooper's sustained success is attributable to a constant focus on innovation, evolving business practices while maintaining the highest ethical standards and meeting customer needs. The Company has seven operating divisions with leading market positions and world-class products and brands including: Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG explosion-proof electrical equipment; Halo and Metalux lighting fixtures; and Kyle and McGraw-Edison power systems products. With this broad range of products, Cooper is uniquely positioned for several long-term growth trends including the global infrastructure build-out, the need to improve the reliability and productivity of the electric grid, the demand for higher energy-efficient products and the need for improved electrical safety. In 2010 fifty-nine percent of total sales were to customers in the industrial and utility end-markets and thirty-nine percent of total sales were to customers outside the United States. Cooper has manufacturing facilities in 21 countries as of 2010. For more information, visit the website at www.cooperindustries.com.

SOURCE Cooper Lighting