| UCES plans brighter Christmas | | Posted: Monday, November 19, 2012 9:19 pm
| This Christmas season is going to be a little brighter in Union City, courtesy of the Union City Electric System.
New LED bulbs have replaced the conventional bulbs that were used on the city’s holiday decorations and the Christmas tree at the Obion County Courthouse.
The new lights will be a little brighter, will use less electricity and will be more durable, according to UCES manager Jerry Bailey.
“We always install the decorations and the courthouse tree right before the tree-lighting ceremony and the parade,” Bailey said. The city parks department installs the wreaths on the decorative poles downtown.
Decorating the downtown area will take place this week, leading up to the tree-lighting ceremony and parade on Nov. 26.
“We’ve converted all the lights to LED this year, saving the city money on energy and labor to replace bulbs that go out,” Bailey said.
He said the new bulbs will pay for themselves in energy in about three years. He said the new bulbs will use about one seventh the energy of the conventional bulbs. Not only will they save on energy, but the time to replace the burned out bulbs every year will now be a minimum.
“The LED bulbs don’t have an element like regular lamps, so they can withstand the shock of movement and accidental dropping,” Bailey said. “Due to the sheer size of the eight-foot-tall trees, it takes a lot of muscle and jarring to get them into position on the poles. With the old bulbs, the trees had to go through another rebulbing process every time they were hung.”
Bailey said the new LED bulbs were purchased earlier in the year and the crews replaced them during days of inclement weather.
“There are a total of around 8,000 bulbs that were replaced,” Bailey said. “It took several days for our employees to do the job.”
He explained the city and the electric system will save money over the years from the savings of energy and time using the new LED bulbs.
Bailey reminded local residents that the city’s holiday decorations will be on full display at next Monday’s Community Tree Lighting ceremony, scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m., and the downtown holiday parade, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Published in The Messenger 11.19.12 | | | | |
