Smithfield Street Light Management Program – Updates:  June, 2023

The Town of Smithfield has completed the Streetlight Conversion Program.  All High Pressure Sodium street lights the Town of Smithfield is responsible for operating & maintaining have been converted to high efficiency LED street lights throughout the community.

Please be advised a select number of street light units throughout the community (approximately 90 street lights) have been reprogrammed to a part-night-off sequence.  The lights that have been selected are mostly mid-block units, where other supporting light units are still plainly visible in between. 

• The decision to implement this change was done so where it has been viewed that no compromise to roadway public safety will occur & allow the Town to realize better rate charges on electricity for doing so.

• The select street light units will energize normally after sunset & extinguish at 1:00 AM when majority of the population is asleep.  At 5:00 AM the light units will re-energize until sunrise normally turns them off during daylight hours.

• These minor changes are aimed at making Smithfield a more environmentally sustainable community that realizes the impacts of climate change are effected by something as minor as turning off a light overnight.

To contact the Town's street light manager PRISM to report a Streetlight Issue, click the link below:

Report a Street Light Issue – Contact PRISM

In 2021 Town acquired the streetlight assets in Smithfield from National Grid & we are now a Customer Owned Utility.  What that means is the Town now owns, operates & maintains the street lights which the Town was historically paying high fees to illuminate.  This enables the Town to pay favorable electricity rates, save the taxpayers money & optimize lighting as a resource.

Street lighting Guidelines

Generally in the Town of Smithfield Street lighting is provided by the Town to the business & residents of the community.  Street lighting is discretionary & the Town is not obligated to provide street lighting for convenience.  Street lighting is intended to provide roadway safety & security for areas where conditions warrant safe illumination for all modes of transportation. 

Street lighting is to be used judiciously & the Town has taken steps during the conversion program to:

1. Light intersections, curves, road ends, crosswalks, public spaces & areas requiring visibility
2. Maintain inventory to only light areas that need to be lit
3. Provide uniform placement/spacing of streetlights
4. Provide uniform lighting levels that are not excessively too bright or too dim
5. Provide inventory consistency to provide easy maintenance
6. Minimize use of street lights to the extent practicable
7. Minimize overall product & electrification costs to the end user

Street lights may be installed, relocated or removed upon request to the Town’s Traffic Safety Commission.  Should a business or resident wish to have changes made to the streetlight configuration in Town, please click on the link below to make a written request of the Traffic Safety Commission.

Smithfield Traffic Safety Commission – Street Light Request 

About the Street Light Conversion Program – General Highlights & Information

Following the completion of the Stree Light PILOT test period in November, 2020, the Town of Smithfield chose to use Cree Traveyo series overhead streetlights, American Electric Lighting subdivision post top replacement units & Howard Large Area Flood Lights for specialized applications.  All light assets were installed with 3,000 Kelvin color temperature (CCT), low wattage fixtures that provide for cut-off or full cut-off light distribution to safely & uniformly light to levels suitable for travel.  With the exception of State controlled highways, all local street light assets dim during late overnight hours & some units turn off part night (1 AM to 5 AM).  The combination of low wattage fixtures & smart-control capabilities further enables the Town to obtain more favorable tariff rate charges complimenting energy savings further, reducing burden on tax payers & reducing both greenhouse gases & artificial light pollution.         

During the conversion program Smithfield successfully converted approximately 1,450 overhead lights, 225 post top lights & 20 flood lights throughout the community.  As a result of light reduction, 425 lights were removed from service due to location redundancy, improper spacing & overall lack of need.  These programmatic adjustments as a result of inventory audit, conversion & reduction provide for savings that can energize 100 homes for a year and are estimated to save the community $250,000 annually on electricity & maintenance costs. 

These energy & cost savings are aimed at moving Smithfield towards becoming a more sustainable community that recognizes the need to reduce climate changing carbon emissions, reduce energy consumption & keep artificial light pollution minimized all while optimizing the rate of return on this significant community investment.

For more program information, please contact the Town Engineer’s Office at 401-233-1041.

For additional information, please see the following resources on street lighting in the links below:

US Dept. of Energy - Street Lighting Consortium

US Dept. of Energy – Use of Street Lighting

American Medical Association – Lighting Guidance Release

Illumination Engineers Society – Streetlight Conversion

National Grid – Streetlight Portal

PBS Service Announcement

National Geographic Light Education 101

Discovery Channel Education Video on Artificial Light at Night

National Park Service Light Announcement

Why you should care about Good Light at Night

Dark Sky International