The cost of saving Honeymoon Tower residents from the “light pollution” caused by a beacon flashing through their curtains every night, especially torturous during the long, leafless, reflective-snowy nights of winter, will be $10,000.
The Honeymoon Tower will be getting new lights sometime in July at the same time some old equipment is removed. County commissioners may escape vilification over the cost thanks to new technology: LED lights.
The annual cost of electricity for the current tower lights is $3,040, communications technician Duane Ege told the county board Tuesday, June 8, 2010. The cost of powering replacement LED lights will be
1,071 – a difference of $1,969. At that rate, the lights will pay for themselves in about 10 years.
The cost of maintenance will be lower as well, Ege said. Thenew lights will be more focused than the current ones and will be directed upward, providing the light required for passing aircraft to detect.
The other work that had already been planned for the tower will be removal of old aluminum equipment that can be sold as scrap metal. Removing the old equipment is expected to cost $12,000-15,000, Ege said.
The county board unanimously passed a motion authorizing Ege to pursue the installation of the LED lights. Theywill be white during the day and red at night. Theequipment will cost approximately $8,400 and the installation will cost about $1,600.
Ege said the Bogus Lake tower is the only other lighted tower the county operates.
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