That's actually really surprising and also sad. I understand why the efficiency and low maintenance of LED is so appealing, but you'd think in a situation like this there would be at least some thought put towards historic preservation. Don't really understand but it's just the way things are I guess.

I understand them wanting to lower carbon emissions from the lights though, but for now I’m not sure that the electric grid there is much cleaner than a gas lantern itself. Last I checked most of the electricity for Boston is generated with natural gas anyways unfortunately.

It's a lot more efficient to power an LED (or really any electric light source for that matter) with a gas fired power plant than it would be to use that same natural gas to heat up a mantle to provide incandescent light. Also, in terms of fossil fuels, natural gas is pretty much the cleanest and produces the least CO2. Still, some streetlights burning a small amount of natural gas are a literal blip on the radar compared to other sources for emissions, and it would be nice to see the uniqueness and historical value of these to at least be considered a little bit. I'd hope they plan on just replacing a certain number with LEDs while keeping some others in use.

I would do the same, convert them to HPS.

I think it would be a good idea to replace the majority with LEDs and leave two or three with their original gas mantles for historical purposes. I didn’t take into account how much more efficient it was to power an LED with a natural gas power plant, so they do actually seem to reduce energy use and emissions in this case.
So anyway, I’ll always support reducing emissions and anything to help with climate change, but there are a lot bigger problems that could be addressed than a few gas lanterns.

(Only saying that LEDs are a good idea but that’s the only lamp type they would ever convert these to, I would still choose HPS myself)

@HPS_250, it's all about carbon emmisions in Boston.

Yeah, same here in California. I support it and do everything I can to reduce emissions, but I just thought they should keep some of those for historical purposes.

Exactly. The gas lights are a large part of Boston's history.