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I'd just like to understand how on earth it costs 458€ per month to maintain this single light? Does anyone have some insight into that data point? Edit: I kn

I'd just like to understand how on earth it costs 458€ per month to maintain this single light? Does anyone have some insight into that data point? Edit: I know the 150k over 28 years number is a bit rounded, but even using that it's 446/month or 14.60/day to run the light?!?

soundwave106 10y ago
Googling, I've seen the rough figures from $1,000 to $10,000 (USD) a year to maintain a traffic signal -- all over the place for sure, but the €5300/yr cost doesn't appear to be that out of line. However I can't Google a really good breakdown of costs. My assumption is that the bigger percentage of that is maintenance. There are three lights in the Google street view. Assuming these are old incandescent bulbs and Germany's high kWh price, electricity costs would be roughly be about €1500 at most a year (assuming €0.35 per kWh, 150 watt bulbs, and 3 lights "always on"). Maybe add another €500 at most for the controller although it probably should cost less than that. (LED lights would drop this part of the bill a lot, too.) However, there is probably some maintenance costs for both the controller and the light: changing all bulbs yearly (if incandescent), cleaning the bulb lenses, controller maintenance (wiring checks, etc.), etc. I imagine that the bulk of the costs would fall here: labor costs plus some equipment costs (trucks, tools, etc.). A) http://pugetsoundblogs.com/roadwarrior/2012/09/25/comparing-costs-of-roundabouts-and-traffic-signals/ http://pugetsoundblogs.com/roadwarrior/2012/09/25/comparing-... B) http://bmtsonline.com/sites/default/files/Reports%20and%20Documents/FINAL%20Traffic%20Signal%20Maintenance%20Consolidation%20Study.pdf http://bmtsonline.com/sites/default/files/Reports%20and%20Do...
- lsaferite 10y ago
  Even if 2000/year is the base electricity cost, that still means it's costing 9.20/day in materials and labor for a single light. That still seems very excessive to me.

soundwave106 10y ago

Googling, I've seen the rough figures from $1,000 to $10,000 (USD) a year to maintain a traffic signal -- all over the place for sure, but the €5300/yr cost doesn't appear to be that out of line. However I can't Google a really good breakdown of costs. My assumption is that the bigger percentage of that is maintenance. There are three lights in the Google street view. Assuming these are old incandescent bulbs and Germany's high kWh price, electricity costs would be roughly be about €1500 at most a year (assuming €0.35 per kWh, 150 watt bulbs, and 3 lights "always on"). Maybe add another €500 at most for the controller although it probably should cost less than that. (LED lights would drop this part of the bill a lot, too.) However, there is probably some maintenance costs for both the controller and the light: changing all bulbs yearly (if incandescent), cleaning the bulb lenses, controller maintenance (wiring checks, etc.), etc. I imagine that the bulk of the costs would fall here: labor costs plus some equipment costs (trucks, tools, etc.). A) http://pugetsoundblogs.com/roadwarrior/2012/09/25/comparing-costs-of-roundabouts-and-traffic-signals/ http://pugetsoundblogs.com/roadwarrior/2012/09/25/comparing-... B) http://bmtsonline.com/sites/default/files/Reports%20and%20Documents/FINAL%20Traffic%20Signal%20Maintenance%20Consolidation%20Study.pdf http://bmtsonline.com/sites/default/files/Reports%20and%20Do...

lsaferite 10y ago
Even if 2000/year is the base electricity cost, that still means it's costing 9.20/day in materials and labor for a single light. That still seems very excessive to me.