In the town of Grand-Aigueblanche in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, André Pointet, the Mayor of this municipality created in 2019, was seeking to modernize its public lighting. As a result, the new municipality, which was formed by the merger of Aigueblanche, Le Bois and Saint-Oyen, replaced approximately 35% of its lighting stock in a move towards more sustainable solutions, while ensuring the safety and security of users.
The retrofit enabled the town to make significant energy savings and to install the “right” lighting, with the maximum possible reuse of old light fixtures. In addition to reducing energy costs, this approach also takes account of the environmental issues surrounding public lighting and the environmental responsibility of municipalities.
As a less expensive and more environmentally friendly option, retrofitting stood out as the perfect solution. This arrangement enables a lighting system to be modernized using the best performing LEDs without needing to replace the entire system.
With a lifespan that is 12 to 15 times greater than that of standard bulbs, LEDs are the only light source rendering renovation operations eligible for an Energy Saving Certificate (CEE). The renovation was also eligible for grants from the Syndicat Départemental d’Énergie de la Savoie (SDES) (Savoy Departmental Energy Fund).
By switching from a traditional light source to an LED source, the municipality was able to achieve energy savings of between 65% and 74% depending on the sector.
The project, which began in 2019, covers 900 lighting units, of which 300 have been modernized to date.
The Ragni light fixtures included in the renovation are:
- The Rognac urban lighting fixture, upgraded from a high-pressure sodium light source (HPS) to 32 LEDs
- Complete replacement of the light section with the traditional Vence lighting fixture with an 8, 16 or 32 LED source depending on its location, as well as the Deiko-S road lighting fixture with a 32 LED source.
- All with the lighting dimmed by 50% between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A dedicated lighting fixture for the municipality of Aigueblanche has been specially designed for this project. It is called the “Aquablanca”, the municipality’s former name, which means “white water”.
André Pointet, the Mayor of Grand-Aigueblanche, gives his recommendations for municipalities that are still hesitant:
“Come and see what we have done and look at the results. It has to be done! Today, there is financial support for modernizing local lighting, so don’t hesitate. In terms of financial savings, when you look at energy costs, if we hadn’t done this, we would have had skyrocketing bills. So quality and savings, it is our duty as elected officials to move in this direction, in order to spend public funds in the best possible way.”
The modernization of lighting has yielded a number of significant savings:
For Le Bois
Saving: > 65%>
Consumption – old light fixtures: 50,905.6 kWh for 4100 hours
Consumption – new light fixtures: 17,867.56 kWh for 4100 hours
Energy saving in kWh: 33,038.04 kWh
For Saint-Oyen
Saving: > 74%>
Consumption – old light fixtures: 20,524.6 kWh for 4100 hours
Consumption – new light fixtures: 5,354.5 kWh for 4100 hours
Energy saving in kWh: 15,710.1 kWh
“I would like to thank André Pointet and Thierry Brunier for their commitment to this project as nothing could be done without the municipality’s commitment. This collaboration enabled us to work well as a team with Ragni’s various departments, the municipality and the installer.” says Arnaud Jarocki from Arel.
We were delighted to welcome André Pointet, the Mayor of Grand-Aigueblanche, Thierry Brunier, the Mayor of Saint-Oyen, Patrick Carle, representing Serpollet, as well as Arnaud Jarocki from Arel, for a brief interview about this incredible project – link to the interview below.