I Had No Idea Streetlights Looked Like This

I never really thought about what a streetlight looked like underneath the hood until I saw one the other day and my mind was blown.

I always assumed there was one giant lightbulb under there like the ones you might find in an old lamp at your grandma's house or at the hardware store. As it turns out, the lights are pretty futuristic looking.

It turns out Sartell and St. Cloud switched from the classic sodium-based lamps that have generally been in use in the United States since the 1920's to these new, futuristic LED lamps back in 2016. I guess I had just never bothered to look up at one until then.

The LED lamps emit more of a moonlight-like white, consistent glow while the older lights were more of an unnatural orange color. The LED lights use much less power than the sodium-based ones and also have a longer life expectancy.

Xcel Energy led the initiative to convert the streetlights about five years ago and ultimately switched over 90,000 lights in 350 towns, according to WJON.

At the time of the WJON article the City of St. Cloud estimated it would save over $600,000 a year by switching the lights over.

The new lights look so futuristic and awesome and the really do make a big difference in the quality of lighting in the area, especially when it is raining or that weird dark during the day because its about to storm weather.