Renewal of street and road lighting in Swedish municipalities

We studied planning, responsibilities, and stakeholder’s involvement in 12 Swedish municipalities of different size to identify factors that could constitute barriers for developing more energy efficient street and road lighting (SRL). In this study, small municipalities had the most energy efficient lighting and all stated that energy savings were the main reason for their substitution of mercury lamps. In medium-sized and large municipalities the ecodesign directive was given as the main motive for renewal of the SRL by four municipalities, and the remaining four municipalities stated that their main motive was the need to replace old SRL. Outsourcing of management, operation and maintenance may constitute a barrier for renewal whereas lack of knowledge and costs for renewal does not seem to be any significant barriers. Integration of SRL planning with other strategies, such as energy and economy strategies, seems to be an important factor for a proactive SRL development.