25 Jun Smart Street Lights: A Connected Future
A connected future is more achievable than ever with the booming innovations of smart street lights. As cities begin implementing the new lighting technologies, several studies have shown the advantages that intelligent lighting fixtures have to offer to smart cities undergoing urban development.
New advancements and innovations in lighting have paved the way to smart city goals and aspirations. More and more local governments are beginning to study and explore smart city initiatives to improve the overall functionality and experience in their respective cities.
Among the many technologies being adopted to create smart cities are smart street lights, which are quickly making waves all over the world and creating a steadfast route to a connected future. As cities make efforts to achieve urban development, infrastructure lighting systems are positioned at the forefront thanks to being flexible and easy to scale.
What are Smart Street Lights?
Smart street lights are public lighting solutions that are equipped with the latest in lighting technology. Some of these fixtures incorporate cameras, sensors, and light-sensing photocells to provide advanced functionalities.
Many cities are beginning to explore their wonders, owing to the fact that they present a cost-effective solution to enhance public safety, reduce energy consumption, and pave the way to further intelligent infrastructure developments.
Benefits of Smart Street Lights
Cities investing in smart technology should begin their venture with intelligent street lighting, which offers an array of unprecedented benefits that can help cities take a leap into the future. At only a small cost, it presents great advantages, the basic ones being:
- Lower energy costs
- Dimmable and programmable LED lighting
- Creates a foundation for smart city applications
Further, because modern smart street lights are now also outfitted with Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, cameras, and other technologies, they can also offer a host of enhanced features, which help with city development and digitalization. Among its advantages include:
- Collect critical data used to make informed decisions
- Improve city usability
- Wireless communication between devices
- Track maintenance and updates
- Alert administrators of potential security risks, etc.
Smart Street Lights: Trends and Forecast
The utilization of smart street lights is seen to provide a number of benefits and enhancements for cities across the globe. It’s predicted that by 2023, 100 million LED street lights will be in place, which will coincidentally help cities reduce energy use by 50-75%, mitigate CO2 emissions, and improve public safety and satisfaction with features like:
- Quality air monitoring
- Public wi-fi
- Traffic control
- Gunshot detection
- Security cameras, and more
According to data, these features in the tech’s arsenal can reduce crime by up to 10%, making it a secure and more appealing urban development solution.
Smart Street Lights: Use Cases
Many cities have already kick-started efforts to switch to smart street lights. Below are some pioneers and intelligent street lighting application examples.
Chicago
Chicago has dedicated a total of $160 million to a project aimed at replacing 85% of their public lights with smart street lights. This initiative is geared to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 50% to 75%.
Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles has advanced quite confidently in its utilization of smart street lights, with the new technology installed in 80% of the city’s roadways. Los Angeles’ smart street light options have features that include LED bulbs, 4G LTE wireless connectivity, and gunshot sensors. In the first year of the city’s use of intelligent lighting, Los Angeles has seen a 63% reduction in energy consumption and costs.
Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas is also underway in its switch to smart street lights, replacing 23 traditional street lights with LED light bulbs. They have also utilized intelligent lighting fixtures that have air quality monitors, lawn irrigation, and parking management features.
While a complete transformation is still in progress, Dallas is already seeing results, with a reduced energy cost of 35%, increased business revenue of 12%, and a decrease in crime rates by 6%. By the end of the project, 85,000 lights will be installed, which is expected to yield over $90 million in annual savings.
New York
The city that never sleeps, of course, is not lagging behind the new technologies, also employing smart street lights equipped with IoT technology. NYC is making use of LED streetlights equipped with motion sensors, programmable dimming features, web browser system access, and HD cameras.
Paving the Way for A Connected Future
The switch to smart LED streetlights presents a cost-efficient solution that can yield a favorable ROI for cities across the globe. As more and more cities are beginning to take the leap towards the future, smart streetlights continuously serve as the backbone for a safer, more connected, and improved quality of life.
Stealth Ventures has a myriad of intelligent lighting solutions for infrastructure, commercial, and residential applications. Browse products from our partner brands and contact us to learn more about how we can add value to your urban development project.