If you have been to the world famous lit up streets in Las Vegas, you may have thought to yourself what the power bill would look like to power so many lights in the city, let alone a few singular streets lit up like it’s midday. It is quite a sight for tourists but is surely costing an arm and a leg. Recently Las Vegas has set its sights on harnessing the sunny weather in the district and utilising that energy to power the street lighting that is draining the power grid.
Las Vegas city is now partnering up with a light specialist company in New York City to address this problem, a company known as EnGoPLANET. EnGoPLANET specialises in off-grid solar and pedestrian-powered state-of-the-art LED street lighting in Boulder Plaza. These lights feature photovoltaic panels on the top which absorbs the light energy from the sun, using and storing the energy when it is needed. Another feature of these lights is there are pads built into the sidewalk where pedestrians help generate energy whilst passing by. Motion sensors ensure that the correct lights turn on brighter as the pedestrian passes by whilst saving power when there are no pedestrians nearby. For extra visual pleasure, the lights can create a vibrant mood by changing colours in the tourist areas to maintain the lively ambiance.
Whilst providing light is the primary function, there are many new fancy extras that give a plain light post some life. These lights can also detect water, measure the air quality around it, keep an eye on citizens and even monitor the local traffic (great for cities). Other features also include USB ports for charging for the tech savvy and also wifi hotspots. What more could you really want from a light pole? And what next, carpark lighting will make carparks safer and these new light posts can even start generating power for nearby warehouse lighting
We are seeing a major shift from the Las Vegas council which is astonishing to see, one of the most iconic cities in the world taking a very large step to reduce its C02 contribution. The even more astonishing fact is that the city of Las Vegas has recently committed to harnessing 100% of its energy from renewable sources in the near future. The future is looking ‘bright’ for Las Vegas, with many large tech companies choosing to set up base here for their operations. Big things are coming.
