DOWNERS GROVE, IL – The Village of Downers Grove, Ill., has replaced all of its interior and exterior lighting at the Village’s fleet and public works department garages, from storage area lighting to shop and some exterior lighting. The Village replaced T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures with T8 fixtures.

According to a mid-March 2012 report on the project from Downers Grove, Village employees worked to obtain a grant of $32,747 from the State of Illinois for the cost of all materials needed for the project, and for part of the in-house labor used to install the fixtures.

Although a focused project, the lighting has improved safety conditions, reduced the energy consumption of facility lighting by 40% (where the lights were replaced), reduced operating costs due to the 36,000-hour lifespan for the new lights, and helped reduce CO2 emissions by 103 tons per year. The total reduction in kilowatt hours comes to 190,117. Also, the new electronic ballasts installed as part of the project have a five-year warranty.