Decorative Streetlights

Started by BrendaP3 • 16 replies • 460 views

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BrendaP3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 21

Posted:

The developer of our HOA signed into an agreement for premium priced decorative streetlights with the utility company. Our HOA is paying about $38/month for each light. This is not a rent to own agreement but rent forever. We've been told we can upgrade to LED fixtures in 2 more years (which makes it 20 years) but our costs will not go down since the lights are not metered. We're paying about $7,200 a year. Looking for options. Has anyone gone to solar streetlights and been satisfied with them?

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

If you switch out will that not cost more in installation?

Former HOA President

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

I know of a few developments that put in solar powered street lights. This does not always work well for every location.

One would need to do a cost analysis to determine how long it will take to break even and save funds.

Things to take into consideration:

Cost for the power company to remove the lights.
Cost for the solar lights and break away mounting pole.
Cost to install the solar lights and pole.
Maintenance costs (cleaning solar panels, tightening connections, etc.).
Replacement battery costs (including labor to do so).
Replacement costs of fixture (life expectancy)

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Another item to add to Tim's list: projected payback period of switching vs. projected lifespan on current fixture.

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

We have streetlights that we rent from the power company for a few thousand dollars per year.

We have our hands full of other work that we need to do, so no one on the Board is worried about the rental cost of street lights.

AugustinD
Posts: 1,027

Posted:

Based on the following, it sounds to me like it is worth hiring a Land Use and Civil Engineer PE to do a study for a few thousand dollars and make recommendations.

Estimates

Figure about 16 street lamps =~ 7200/12/38

Aug's guessed life expectancy of a street lamp =~ 30 years

Cost of a new lamp =~ about $4000 total
The net says the average cost of a new street lamp (just the parts, not the labor) is about $2000-$3000. Labor is another $1000. Figure $3000 to $4000 to install a new lamp. Tell the utility company to haul away its rental street lamps. Have a contractor install a meter. Cost of new lamp's electricity = trivial amount in the scheme of things.

Figure a new street lamp uses about $4 of electricity per month per lamp, based on some numbers from the net. Electricity cost is going up. But figure the rental cost would also rise accordingly.

Replacing a rental lamp today with a HOA owned one translates to a monthly electric bill savings of about $34 = $38 - $4.

After $4000+ installed cost / $34 per month savings = about 105 m~ 10 years, the HOA-owned lamp has paid for itself. The HOA gets 20 more years of life out of the lamp for free, pretty much.

Of course, climate change could alter infrastructure and utilities estimates drastically.

Maybe the utility company be willing to negotiate a deal to sell its street lamps to the HOA. After all, it costs the utility company to haul away its property. Unless of course the rental contract has conditions that would affect such a plan.

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

I hope you're kidding about spending a few thousand dollars in engineering fees to assess a $7,200 annual cost of maintenance-free street lamps.

There is one answer - rent your street lights from the utility company. Period. Install your own private lamps if you have a plan for hiring an electrician to climb poles for maintenance.

This is a no brainer, literally.

MichaelS56 (Minnesota)
Posts: 858

Posted:

Do not forget the underground wiring for the streetlights, may need to be replaced.

AugustinD
Posts: 1,027

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By KellyM3 on 08/22/2022 9:46 AM
I hope you're kidding about spending a few thousand dollars in engineering fees to assess a $7,200 annual cost of maintenance-free street lamps.

I think you misread. I am proposing a cost-benefit analysis to potentially save thousands of dollars per year in the long run.

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

Just for comparison, I looked at what we pay for streetlights in our community.

We have 144 lights that we lease from FPL. I believe all have LED lights, 121 are 39 watts and 21 are 74 watts.

Last month, before taxes and all the surcharges, we used $66.00 in energy for those 144 lights. The lights themselves cost us $2708.59. Total for last month, including taxes and surcharges, was $3167.84.

The cost for the lights includes a maintenance plan so they come and replace any bulbs or fix any failures.

In our scenario the payback would be a long time if we were to replace the lights and maintain ourselves, so leasing makes sense. For fewer lights, it may not.

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

Sorry my math didn't add up. We have 123 of the lower wattage and 21 of the higher wattage for a total of 144.

AugustinD
Posts: 1,027

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By LoriM15 on 08/22/2022 11:55 AM

We have 144 lights that we lease from FPL. ...
Last month, before taxes and all the surcharges, we used $66.00 in energy for those 144 lights. The lights themselves cost us $2708.59. Total for last month, including taxes and surcharges, was $3167.84.

The cost for the lights includes a maintenance plan so they come and replace any bulbs or fix any failures.

In our scenario the payback would be a long time if we were to replace the lights and maintain ourselves, so leasing makes sense. For fewer lights, it may not.

So about $18 rent per month per street light, right?

The maintenance and repairs as part of the lease should certainly count for something.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Aug,

Don't forget the cost of the utility company to install a meter (new service to them), or, perhaps, a few meters depending on how the wiring is set up.

In my previous association, we had three meters for the street lights. The utility owned the light and took care of the maintenance. Our cost was about $325 a month.

I agree with others to see what negotiation can be done with the utility company in addition to exploring costs for your own lights.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

That was for 26 lights.

AugustinD
Posts: 1,027

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 08/22/2022 5:37 PM
Don't forget the cost of the utility company to install a meter (new service to them), or, perhaps, a few meters depending on how the wiring is set up.

Absolutely. I should not have assumed.

I googled a bit and am surprised that this may not be all that much (on the order of hundreds of dollars, worst case?). But I could very well be missing something.

I wonder if the OP's HOA's reserve study company would take a call on this subject, charging nothing for some insight on it or at most, a tiny amount of money?

The much lower rental costs that TimB4 and LoriM15 reported for their areas, compared to what the OP's HOA is paying, are interesting and could, bottom line, easily argue for continued rental.

BrendaP3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 21

Posted:

A few more specifics on our premium priced streetlights. We have 16' metal poles that are pedestal mounted. After communicating with the utility company this week, there may be an option to go with fiberglass poles that are direct buried rather than pedestal mounted. The fiberglass pole estimate is lower priced. I'm going to start researching the pros and cons of this option. Thank you for your response as we are exploring multiple avenues to lower our costs.

BrendaP3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 21

Posted:

Michael,

Our developer selected 16' pedestal-mounted metal poles with premium decorative fixtures. You may be paying half the price that we are for your more standard lights. I've been working with the electric company and the utility commission on options to lower our costs. It seems our developer picked the Mercedes of streetlights knowing he didn't have to pay for them after the sale. With all our costs going up, we're taking a look at all our budget items.

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