Sustainability influences all of the operations and projects at the Town of Huntsville. But what, exactly, is it? Broadly defined, behaving sustainably ensures we can meet our needs today while remaining conscious of what future generations will need to meet their own needs. If we meet ours without compromising theirs, we’re being sustainable.<\/p>\n
The town takes a 3-pillar approach to sustainability, considering the economic, environmental, and social impacts of its projects and operations, said Rebecca Francis, Town of Huntsville’s Sustainability Co-ordinator.<\/p>\n
While they think about it in everything they do, town staff need to strike a balance between those three pillars with some occasionally coming out stronger than others. The new installation of LED lights in many of the town’s streetlights is a prime example.<\/p>\n
“LED technology is at the point where costs have come down and the energy savings are phenomenal,” said Francis. “It\u2019s a great energy-efficiency project and the town is always looking for ways to save money. Thanks to the long life of LEDs, we will see our costs come down in both energy and maintenance costs within four years.”<\/p>\n
But the town needed to balance cost savings with environmental impact – the least expensive of LED lights are also the brightest. “With lighting we are always concerned about dark skies, so we chose a lighting level that gets us energy savings while also not getting as much light shining upward into the night sky.”<\/p>\n\n\t\t