The Road to Smart Cities is Paved with Smart LED Lighting
Why Municipalities are Making the Smart Choice with Smart Cells
The world today is increasingly urbanized with reports estimating that 3 million people move to cities every week. This move is largely attributed to better access to services and opportunities for economic and cultural participation in cities. However, the high rate of urbanization has its fair share of challenges, which include the sustainability of the available resources, environmental protection, security, and so on.
How LED lights are paving the way for smart cities
Multiple cities across the world are replacing urban lights with smart LED outdoor lighting. Case in point is Australia, whose cities are investing in smart city lighting to curb energy costs and improve grid network management. This follows the launch of the Northern Territory government initiative which sought to handover the control of street lighting back to local councils.
Closer home, LED roadway lighting in California is commencing. The California Lighting Technology Center recently partnered with GE and two Southern California cities on a project that would fast-track the implementation of energy-efficient, smart outdoor lighting systems. The project is said to bring about benefits such as IoT-enables smart city app, accurate billing, dark-sky friendly SSL (solid-state lighting), and creative financing, among others.
Some of the ways through which municipal LED street lighting is paving the way for smart cities include:
Energy savings
Cities consume about 75% of the world’s primary energy and emit 50-60% of the global greenhouse gases. One way through which cities are improving their energy efficiency is through the use of smart LED lights. Apart from using less energy, these smart LED lights provide light on-demand light and motion-sensing lights which reduce energy wastage.
Better Connectivity
Data is the driving force towards smart cities. LED streetlights are being used as a connectivity platform that provides real-time information to individuals and municipal data centers. Data such as traffic density, the weather, parking spots, and so on are constantly being relayed to mobile apps. The authorities are using this data to provide services such as better traffic management, improved waste management, smarter security, efficient lighting, and disaster planning.
For Municipal LED Street Lighting in California or Nevada, Contact Great Basin Lighting
Ultimately, smart LED lighting will lead to the economic growth of smart cities. This is as a result of reduced energy consumption, which results in cost savings. Also, smart LED lights are being used to enhance the appeal of a city’s landscape, monuments, and buildings to attract tourists. For example, Opera House in Sydney, Australia, whose iconic value is approximately $4.6 billion. Ready to learn more about smart poles and smart city applications? Contact the professionals at Great Basin Lighting, a west coast outdoor LED lighting company, about how smart cell poles can impact and improve everyday living.