HAMMONTON BLOG

Atlantic City Electric announced Thursday it is replacing streetlights in Hammonton to test whether the new bulbs are energy-efficient and will still provide the same quality as the current lighting source.

Hammonton will get the new light-emitting diode, or LED, streetlights for a six-month testing period. Atlantic City Electric is replacing the current mercury vapor and high-pressure sodium lighting.

Customers can e-mail their comments about the new lighting to LED@atlanticcityelectric.com. Those comments will be used to help evaluate the effectiveness of the LEDs and whether the utility would install more of them.

A recent study by University of Pittsburgh engineers found that LEDs use less energy than traditional bulbs and can last three to four times longer. But the technology is not cheap and can cost between $9 and $322 per bulb, compared with high-pressure sodium, which costs $12 per bulb, the study said.

LEDs can save money in terms of energy consumption because they require less power to run.

Atlantic City Electric services more than 80,000 streetlights throughout southern New Jersey.