Reduction of greenhouse gases, climate protection and energy efficiency – everyone is currently hotly debating the responsible handling of energy resources. In times of urgent environment problems and strained public budgets, urban streetlighting is also becoming the subject of close scrutiny. Quite simple and cost efficient approaches exist: intelligent control of outdoor lighting installations with Siteco Control allows a reduction in energy consumption, light pollution and operating costs with a simultaneous improvement of road safety.
Flexible Dimming
Siteco Control is based upon the PowerLine technology. This allows large data packages to be bidirectionally transmitted between control unit and luminaire with low volumes of energy. As such entire lighting systems can be extended to a communicative data network. Individual light points can be controlled, and each connected luminaire can be centrally monitored.
On the one hand this opens up new chances for energy saving. For example by flexible dimming of the installation, e.g. when more light than normal is required for places where accidents have occurred or with bad weather conditions, but also with moonlit nights and low traffic densities when less light is needed. On the other hand, completely new possibilities for control and monitoring of lighting installations are made available: via remote monitoring, the condition of individual light points can be assessed at any time, luminaire failures can be exactly located, and the recording of consumption data and error analysis is possible at all times. Of course, the control can also be used for the targeted avoidance of energy peaks.
Exact Power Adaption
The dimming of single light points can also be used for the compensation of planning-related over-lighting effects. Because efficacy of lamps within street luminaires reduces over the years, lighting consultants must budget in a maintenance factor: newly installed lamps emit more light than is necessary, ensuring that lighting levels at the next relamping cycle do not fall below the required minimal level. Light control enables this maintenance factor to be compensated for by always dimming lighting to the required level.
Perspectives of Light Management
Because Siteco Control uses standardised interfaces and protocols for data transmission, the system is open for the integration of further applications. For example, control of parking ticket machines and the monitoring of traffic lights can be much more intelligently implemented with a networked road lighting system than is the case today.
Getting started with the future-fit technology pays in particular because the system is compatible with conventional control technologies and allows a successive modernisation of municipal lighting installations to state-of-the-art technology, control and monitoring.
