Iași to shut off architectural lighting to save on energy

Iași city officials recently decided to switch off the architectural lighting for several well-known buildings to bring down energy costs. Among the buildings that will not be lit after midnight is the Roznovanu Palace, which houses the Iași City Hall. Also on the list are numerous local churches, a monastery, and the Central University Library.

Mayor Mihai Chirica believes that the new measure will not impact the city’s inhabitants, as the vast majority of them are not out past 10 PM.

“There is an almost total absence of people in the public space after midnight. Our city is beautiful, but from 10 PM to 10:30 PM people start heading back to their homes, even during the weekend. There are some parties, weddings that last until midnight, so the hour [set] is reasonable,” Chirica said in a press conference.

The mayor also said that the measure will allow the City Hall to save roughly 457 megawatts or RON 1.5 million (EUR 304,828) in costs. “Multiply this by a few tens or hundreds of times more at the national level and you will see that every penny, every megawatt saved adds up,” the Chirica added, cited by G4Media.

The lights on the buildings in question will automatically switch off at midnight.

Iași also has around 4,700 street lights that have a dimmer function, decreasing the level of light at certain hours. Other institutions and buildings in the city have also started to take measures to save up on electricity.

Similar measures have been taken by other European cities. Paris city officials announced that they will shut off the lights on the Eiffel tower earlier than normal to decrease energy-related costs. The German city of Hanover imposed its own energy-saving measures, while the lights surrounding 200 historic and public buildings in Berlin were shut off during the night as early as July.

(Photo source: Trifuion | Dreamstime.com)