FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                            Feb. 3, 2009

COUNTY PLANS TO REPLACE 30,000 BULBS AT PLAYLAND
TO SAVE ENERGY AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT

In the ongoing effort to save on energy costs, Westchester County plans on replacing 30,000 incandescent light bulbs at Playland Park with energy-efficient ones that are also kinder to the environment.

County Executive Andy Spano has sent the plan to the Board of Legislators, saying the $950,000 investment will annually save $100,000 and  800,000 kilowatt hours. The project is based on an independent audit made by the New York Power Authority.

“This is intended not only to address environmental and climate change issues, but to reduce the county’s exposure to increased utility costs, which taxpayers inevitably pay for,” Spano said.

This project will take approximately one year to implement, and through the annual saving in electrical costs, it will pay for itself in approximately ten years.

If approved, the project will involve the removal of:

· all incandescent bulbs in buildings, to be replaced with more energy-efficient screw-in compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs throughout the entire park;

· all existing U-bend fixtures along the Colonnade Mall. to be replaced with new fixtures and LED lighting;

·  existing lights in buildings, to be replaced with new energy-efficient fixtures requiring fewer bulbs.

The existing bulbs last an average of 400 hours while the proposed compact fluorescent bulbs, powered with high efficiency florescent fixtures, have been tested to last more than 20,000 hours.  The LED lighting also burns much cooler thus reducing the heat and energy emittance.

This is the latest initiative of the Spano Administration to implement measures, large and small, to save on energy costs. The county last year reduced by 10,000 the number of light bulbs and fixtures; changed the temperature of county office buildings; and decreased use of gasoline.

Spano has been a leader in addressing climate change at the local level, beginning in 2007 with the formation of the county’s Global Warming Task Force, a consortium of municipal, business, education and environmental leaders. The task force worked diligently for more than a year to produce a series of action plans that identified practical steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote sustainability in each sector of the Westchester County community. (Go to www.westchestergov.com/globalwarming to view.)

That effort continues today, with the newly formed Climate Change Advisory Council, which provides guidance and support to the various sectors as they begin to implement these action plans.

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