Renewing the lighting is a part of the City of Light – project, which Jyväskylä has pursued for nearly ten years. Project co-ordinator Annukka Larsen is extremely pleased with the bridge lighting renewal process.

“This borderlines
a perfect project.”

“I think this borderlines a perfect project. The aim was to renew the lighting to save energy without changing the appearance of the bridge – be it day or night. We succeeded well in both of those aims´, she states.

The total power of the Kuokkala Bridge was previously 23400 W, now we are down to 6000 W. This annually saves 63000 KwH, equivalent to the energy consumption of three Finnish houses. Furthermore, additional savings are achieved because the maintenance and service needs of LED luminaires are minimal. The lifespan expectancy is 30 years.

The total cost of the renewal was €130000. Jyväskylä received 25% state-subsidizing, leaving 97500 self-financing. The payback time is only 11 years, with all factors taken into account.

Kari Ström, of the city of Jyväskylä, says that several options were considered for the renewal of the bridge lighting. The decision to choose LEDs had a number of reasons.

“The prices of LEDs have come down significantly and LED technology has improved rapidly. Our objectives to save energy are achieved nicely and the provided amount of light is good´, he summarises.

This is not the first pleasant experience of LED luminaires for Jyväskylä, the City of Light – a project of Jyväskylä has deployed LED lighting in numerous targets. The underpasses of Jyväskylä are, e.g., equipped with Lumous Lighting LED bridge luminaires.