News

19 July 2010

 

Cree’s LED City program gains first Indian city

Tirupati Municipal Corporation in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India has joined the Cree LED City initiative , an international community of government and industry parties initiated by LED chip, lamp and lighting fixture maker Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA in December 2006 to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting across municipal infrastructure (with the aim of to saving energy, protecting the environment, reducing maintenance costs, and providing better light quality for improved visibility and safety).

With a population of more than 250,000, Tirupati is home to the Venkateswara Swamy temple (about 10 km north west of Tirupati in the Tirumala hills), which hosts 50,000-100,000 pilgrims each day. As one of India’s most important pilgrimage centers and a major economical and education hub in the southern region of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati has selected LED lighting to address escalating infrastructure costs.

To better light two of the city’s busiest roads, Tirupati has converted more than 140 street lights to LED fixtures, supplied and installed by Tirupati-based Avni Energy Solution Pvt. Ltd.

“Devendra Talkies and Tilak represent two of our city’s most highly trafficked roads, making proper illumination is essential,” says P. Mohan Reddy, commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Tirupati. “With thousands of people enjoying our city each day, LED lighting provided a way to reduce costs associated with the energy use and maintenance of illuminated roadways.”

Avni Energy Solutions installed 72W LED street lights, featuring Cree XLamp LEDs, and estimates energy savings of more than 70% compared to traditional sodium vapor street lighting. Tirupati Municipal Corporation estimates monthly savings of 6,187 units of electricity (equivalent to 288,000 Indian Rupee or $6500 annually).

“We welcome Tirupati as the first city in India to join the LED City program,” says Deb Lovig, Cree’s LED programs manager. “We applaud Commissioner Reddy and his community for its commitment to achieving significant energy savings, especially given the growing global need to conserve energy.”

Tirupati joins existing program members Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham, NC; Ann Arbor, MI; Austin and Fairview, TX; Anchorage and Valdez, AK; Indian Wells, CA; Danville, VI; and Boston, MA in the USA; Toronto and Welland in Canada; Tianjin and Huizhou in China; Gwangju in South Korea; Torraca and Apecchio in Italy; and Bremen in Germany. 

See related items:

Durham becomes third city in North Carolina to join Cree’s LED City initiative

Cree and Raleigh launch ‘LED City’ municipal lighting initiative

Search: Cree LEDs LED City

Visit: http://tirupaticorporation.com

Visit: www.ledcity.org

Visit: www.cree.com