FOLEY, Alabama -- Energy-saving light fixtures could cut city power costs by as much as 30 percent, but officials say they are still trying to determine if the purchase price would justify the savings.

The city of Foley and Riviera Utilities are looking at LED, or light-emitting diode, lighting systems that could reduce costs by cutting power consumption and maintenance requirements, Jeff Rouzie, director of economic development, said. Officials are trying to determine, however, if the lights would save enough to pay for the transition, he said.

“It really does reduce energy costs. We need to determine what the actual costs would be before we know if the savings would be worth it,” Rouzie said.

LEDs use semiconductors to create light, rather than heating a filament. The lamps can use a fraction of the electricity of a comparable incandescent bulb and last 25 times longer, according to statements by manufactures.

As technology improves, most cities and other agencies will adopt the new systems at some point, Rouzie said.

The question is when that point will be practical.

“Right now, LED lighting is kind of like computers in the late¥’80s or¥’90s,” Rouzie said. “The technology is improving and it’s getting more affordable.”

He said that before any major investment is made in lighting improvements, for either city buildings or streets, officials would have to test the new system.

“What we’d like to do is a pilot test for 90 days or so with a few lights and see what it costs and what kind of savings we really get,” he said.

Riviera Utilities is also considering the costs and benefits of LED lighting, David Horton, spokesman for the city-owned system, said.

When LED streetlights were introduced several years ago, Riviera officials looked at the new systems. They found that at the time, the costs were too high for the energy-saving benefits, Horton said. He said the systems then in use also had other problems, such as overheating.

Horton said Riviera owns and maintains the municipality’s streetlights and charges the city for the electricity used.

He said that if city and utility officials decided to begin using LED lighting, the system could be changed over time as lights wear out rather than replacing all the lamps at once.

Riviera already uses LED lights in city traffic signals, he said.

At the last City Council work session, Ronald Peaslee, owner of Bravo Zulu of Huntsville, said LED lighting systems, such as the ones provided by his company, can pay for themselves in energy savings within 18 to 24 months.

An LED system will also cut maintenance costs, Peaslee said. He said the lights are guaranteed to last 10 years and many of the systems now being made are expected to last twice that long.

While some of the early LED systems did not produce a great deal of light, the units now being produced can provide enough illumination for city streets, parking lots or buildings, Peaslee said.

The lights also have other advantages, he said. LED lights produce much less heat, so systems in buildings also reduce air conditioning requirements.

Peaslee said LED lights can also be programmed to dim at times when no traffic or pedestrians are in the area and to come back to full strength as soon as motion sensors detect people or vehicles.

Rouzie said city officials will also talk to other vendors of LED lights to compare systems and prices.