LED lights cost Thurgau 3 million

The government council has set itself the goal of reducing electricity and gas consumption in the cantonal administration by 15 percent as quickly as possible. The canton of Thurgau has even committed itself to this when it joined the Federal Energy Saving Alliance. Concrete measures are now required.

One of them is the replacement of outdated light sources with modern LED light sources or the installation of a controller. The expected costs amount to around 3 million Swiss francs. With 2.75 million francs, most of it is to be financed by a loan.

7500 lights are affected by the optimization

“In recent years, the cantonal building department has continuously promoted the replacement of LED lamps,” writes the government councilor in his message to the Grand Council. This work is now to be accelerated. The actual recording in the buildings showed that the bulbs in around 2000 simpler lights can be replaced immediately. With a further 5,500 or so lights, it makes sense to keep the light fixtures and to supplement or adapt them with controls. The government council calculates:

“With this measure, around 175,000 kWh can be saved per year, which corresponds to the average electricity consumption of around 40 households with four people.”

Costs per lamp are between 100 and 500 francs

According to the government council, replacing the light bulbs in the 2000 simpler lights, which cost around 200,000 francs, can be financed from the regular budget of the building construction department. An average of CHF 100 per lamp is expected for essentials such as lamps and rewiring. For around 5,500 lights, which are more expensive to replace, the financial requirements are higher. “Depending on the situation, the entire luminaire or parts of it have to be replaced here,” the government council explains. Depending on the age and condition, adjustments to the controls are also required. Presence and daylight control as well as dimming are given as examples. Average costs of CHF 500 per lamp are assumed here, which results in a total of CHF 2.75 million for 5,500 lamps.

All 7,500 lights should be replaced by the end of the year

“This amount cannot be processed through the ordinary budget, which is why a credit line must be applied for,” says the government council with reference to the legal basis. He therefore applied to the Grand Council for a credit line of CHF 2.75 million to speed up the replacement of lights in the cantonal administration buildings.

The replacement should be started as soon as possible so that the energy-saving effect occurs soon. Despite the current market situation and delivery bottlenecks, the aim is to replace all 7500 lights by the end of 2023.

Street lamps are largely a matter for the municipalities

The loan does not include the conversion or replacement costs for street lighting. The reason is quickly found: They are almost exclusively in urban areas. “For the replacement of old street lighting, the municipalities or the electricity supply companies are the pacesetters,” the government council clarifies. “New systems are planned and usually executed by them.”

However, the canton does not completely absolve itself of responsibility. He usually contributes 50 percent of the implementation costs. The funds in the corresponding budget item in the investment calculation of the cantonal civil engineering office (special financing) have been doubled since 2020. In recent years, budget overruns on this account have also been accepted as part of the overall budget in order to support the accelerated switch to energy-efficient LED lighting. “This practice will be retained.”