Little Italy Streetlight Improvement
Little Italy Streetlight Improvement
Client: Project Design Consultants
Location: San Diego, CA
Lopez Engineering, Inc. (LEI) designed the electrical and street lighting portion of the Little Italy Streetlight Improvement as a subconsultant to Project Design Consultants (PDC). The project included both the re-lamping existing streetlights and installing new streetlights in the Little Italy area and was designed according to San Diego City standards. The project required coordination with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) and the City of San Diego Street lighting Department.
LEI designed the power system for the streetlights with a maximum voltage drop of 5%, by performing voltage drop calculations, from the point of connection to the farthest light fixture. An additional task of the project removed 5 KV series city street lighting circuits.
Several scenarios were outlined, depending on the existing conditions encountered. For City blocks without existing street lights, for street lights to be added, a branch circuit was extended from the point of connection (POC) to each light fixture. These branch circuits were sized to accommodate future street light installation. Where existing POCs did not have an electrical panel, LEI installed an outdoor rated pedestal with an electrical panel. Where existing POCs had an electrical panel, it was evaluated for the possibility of connection. Where additional streetlights were added to a city block with existing streetlights, the branch feeders were extended to the new streetlights from the existing streetlights.
To increase economic savings, reduce waste and avoid disturbing historic buildings, unnecessary material and trenching was avoided. The power design used existing conduit wherever feasible and code-compliant. Wiring was replaced unless installed within the last 10 years. Lights for each block were fed from a POC on that block. Where possible, uniformity on the location of the POC was done; typically located in the southwest corner of the block.