Utility crews will spend the next year installing new lights in most of the city’s streetlights. The result: energy savings, better visibility — oh, and a different color of Denver.

The conversion of about 44,000 outdoor fixtures to light-emitting diodes will leave the city washed in a neutral, whiter light. As the current sodium lights are removed, it might look as if someone’s removed an orange filter from Denver’s evenings.

“It seems white, rather than a yellow glow. They called it a white-warm light,” said Nancy Kuhn, spokesperson for Denver Public Works. That change has raised health concerns in the past, but Denver officials say they’re using new technology that minimizes the effects of blue light.

The transformation, which is expected to improve safety along busy roads, will begin along Federal Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. Over the next year, they’ll then spread to West Denver, Central Denver and, lastly, East Denver.

Denver already has installed LEDs along the 16th Street Mall.

Illuminating history

Light-emitting diodes have spread quickly through American cities since 2010. In Los Angeles, a similar changeover forever altered the look of nocturnal scenes filmed in Hollywood

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In 2016, the American Medical Association warned that excessively blue light, like that emitted from early LEDs, can worsen light pollution and disrupt the biological rhythms of people and animals, compared to sodium lights.

However, technological improvements have addressed those concerns. The earliest deployments measured over 5,000 kelvins in color temperature, making them more blue than yellow. In recent years, most cities have embraced the warmer-hued 4,000-kelvin bulbs, according to the Department of Energy.

Denver’s new bulbs will be even more advanced, measuring 3,000 kelvins and falling closer to the transition between yellow and blue. That color temperature meets the AMA’s recommendation for streetlights, too.

“This is becoming more of an industry standard and is the level recommended by the American Medical Association,” wrote Xcel spokesperson Mark Stutz.

And the new lights will actually reduce light pollution because they are more directional, according to Alice Jackson, Xcel Energy president for Colorado.

The 3,000-kelvin “emission is still very blue for the nighttime environment, but is a significant improvement over the 4,000-kelvin lighting because it reduces discomfort and disability glare,” the AMA stated in 2016. A report from the Department of Energy found that proper implementation could minimize side effects.

Energy and money

The conversion will save energy and money, according to city officials.

They expect to lower their annual energy bill by about $844,000 a year. The cost to convert the lights is about $1.6 million. The city is paying for certain fixture hardware, while Xcel is providing the LEDs, which generally have a lifespan of more than a decade. Xcel crews and contractors will complete the work.

The new bulbs also will improve visibility and safety on the city’s most dangerous roads, according to public works Director Eulois Cleckley.

One council member wasn’t impressed. “It’s taken four years to get him to agree to LED streetlight conversion,” Councilman Rafael Espinoza wrote of Mayor Michael Hancock on Twitter. “I guess addressing the climate is a matter of convenience.”

Kuhn said planning for the conversion began years ago. The conversion will still leave about 10,000 of the current lights, including many pedestrian-level lights, which are harder to convert and may be addressed later.