Photo provided by Ben Larson Jeff LaValley and Jon Waltz from the Upper Peninsula Power Co. (UPPCO) replace mercury vapor fluorescent bulbs in the Houghton County administrator’s office with an LED bulb. UPPCO installed 400 of the bulbs in county offices Tuesday as part of a free program.

HOUGHTON — Houghton County buildings have been upgraded with modern lighting through a free Upper Peninsula Power Co. program.

Crews replaced mercury vapor fluorescent bulbs with 400 LED bulbs in the county courthouse Tuesday night.

“UPPCO sent us a note maybe a month or two ago that said ‘Would you like 400 bulbs for free,’ and we said yes,” said Houghton County Administrator Ben Larson.

The new bulbs are brighter and more energy-efficient, Larson said. While he didn’t have a dollar estimate, they will help the county’s electricity costs, he said.

“Our power bills will definitely go down,” he said. “We were happy to have them come in and be great partner.”

The old fluorescent bulbs will be recycled by UPPCO, Larson said.

The program is open to any business, municipality or home that is an UPPCO customer.

UPPCO will also host a two-day event next week at Kirkish Furniture in Houghton and Pat’s Foods in Calumet. It will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 7-8 at both locations. All UPPCO customers can go there to receive free energy efficiency kits.

For more information on the UPPCO program click here