Public Lighting Upgrade for County Monaghan

Monaghan County Council is the first local authority to retrofit all its streetlights to LEDs.

Results

  • 5,800

    lights changed to LEDs

  • 530,000kg

    CO2 were offset

  • €270,000

    in energy savings

Key achievements

First local authority to retrofit all streetlights

55% reduction in billable wattage

Safer roads and public spaces

The Project

Monaghan County Council has 5,800 public streetlights, which are the county's most significant energy user. During 2020, the Council retrofitted 1,700 public streetlights with high efficiency LED bulbs. This marked the completion of the retrofit project, which commenced in 2016.

Before the project started, energy consumption for streetlighting accounted for 3.26GWh and cost over €500,000 per annum. This has been reduced by more than 50% to 1.44GWh and costs €230,000 per annum. The project has reduced the average billable wattage of the streetlights from 135W to 60W, a 55% reduction.

Monaghan County Council is the first Local Authority to retrofit all its streetlighting. The reduced annual energy bills and the maintenance costs associated with LEDs means the investment in this project will be paid back within 7 years.  

Over the 4-year lifetime of this project, over 530,000kg of CO2 emissions has been offset and €270,000 made in energy cost savings per annum.

Annahagh-roundabout-before-and-after
Annahagh roundabout in County Monaghan pictured before (left) and after (right) the LED retrofit.

Benefits to Monaghan County Council

As result of this LED Retrofit project, the Council has significantly reduced both its electrical energy consumption and the associated energy cost. The biggest achievement is the overall reduction in CO₂ emissions, contributing significantly to the Council's climate targets. Additional environmental and safety benefits include reduced skyglow and improved illumination on roads and public spaces making it safer for citizens.

Monaghan County Council are proud to have exceeded their 2020 energy efficiency target of 33% and are looking forward to working on new projects that will bring them closer to their 2030 targets.  

The Programme for Government and the recently published Climate Action Plan (2021) have set out ambitious 2030 targets for the public sector:

  • Reduce absolute emissions by 51%
  • Improve energy efficiency by 50%

Read more about the public sector's targets and achievements:

Annual Report 2021 on Public Sector Energy Efficiency Performance