"Shine your own light. Follow your own path." 

The quote mentioned above is true for Thomaston town in Knox County, as the officials took a significant decision to replace the old street lights with smart LED pole lights. Only over a year ago, the town was purchasing all utility pole-mounted street lights from the Central Maine Power Company (CMPCO), marking a significant decision in the town's best interest and its citizens. 

What happened to the streetlights?

 Following the purchase of the utility-owned streetlights this summer, the town took another major decision. All streetlights in the town now look different and allow effective control over the street lighting design areas. 

The streetlight installations are no joke, as the officials can now control the lights from the town's central computer. The LED parking lot lighting fixtures and pole lights follow scheduled on and off routines across the town. The new street lights offer hassle-free lighting and ensure that the town doesn't remain dark after the sun goes down. 

In the busy town areas, the lights turn on a few minutes after sunset and remain at full brightness until 11 p.m. At 11 p.m., they dim to about half of their full brightness and stay that way until the town sees the daylight. On the other hand, the village lights come on at full rightness about 30 minutes after the sunset. At about 9 p.m., the lights dim to about half of their full brightness and shut down at midnight. Unlike the busy areas, the LED pole lights in the villages and town's outskirts shut off until the sunrise. 

Why was the step necessary?

The town of Thomaston undertook the decision of replacing the existing streetlights with smart LED Parking Lot Lighting Fixtures to achieve a Three-fold goal:

Reducing the cost of operating the streetlights

When it comes to cutting down the energy consumption rates, LED pole lights are the game-changers. In comparison with the old lights, the smart LED lights consume little energy peruse. The new streetlights need a fraction of the energy that went into operating the old streetlights; it sure saves more energy!

Reduce Light Pollution

After the town's citizens settle down for the night, the lights go dim and stay like that for the rest of the night. When not in need, dimming the lights allows the officials to keep a check on the 'light pollution' levels.

Improve the Comfort of the citizens

Blinding lights trespassing the window while one tries to sleep is not fun! Therefore, the decision to install smart LED street lighting fixtures has been no less of a boon for the town's citizens. 

There's more to this Goodness!

As the town has recently adopted the smart LED pole lights, it looks forward to reaping fruitful benefits. 

Active participation of individuals in beneficiary undertakings like this LED light installation helps the system get better. So much so, the town's December Newsletter reads: 

"This plan will run through December, and we would love to hear from you with your thoughts, both favorable and unfavorable. Would you like the lights brighter, dimmer, turned off or on at a different time? We will consider all responses but will act largely on the wishes of the majority." 

Streamlining the lighting design of a town is a community effort. If you are from Thomaston, follow this link to find out the official email details to write in your thoughts!