Let there be smart light!

City lighting is crucial for the nighttime perception of public spaces, key words being a sense of security and aesthetics. Unlike in one's own living room, it hardly seems to occur to one when leaving a square, for example, to turn off the light when no one is there anymore. Light pollution and energy generosity are avoidable vices of urban decor. Since July 2021, Bad Hersfeld has been testing how it is possible to ensure that lighting design in public spaces is simultaneously cost- and energy-efficient, climate- and nature-friendly, and meets the necessary requirements for (traffic) safety. The "SMART LIGHTING as a Service" project, which is being implemented in collaboration with [ui!] Urban Lighting Innovations in cooperation with luminaire manufacturer Schréder, Deutsche Bank and Microsoft, won an award at last year's Smart 50 Awards. The luminaires can use smart digital lighting control of "URBAN INTELLIGENCE-AS-A-SERVICE" (UIAAS) technology from sensors and AI to create the appropriate lighting mood in each of the different urban spaces.

In Herzogenaurach, the 3,200 light points are networked via Signify's Interact City lighting management system and provided with a dashboard as an overview and control interface. The lighting can thus be adjusted in brightness and intensity as required. The entire network and each individual light point are continuously monitored. The luminaires can be activated depending on the presence of people and even accompany cyclists on their way in anticipation. This demand-responsive, continuous lighting increases the sense of security for the users of the space and leads to significant energy savings. In addition to the savings from the use of LED technology, the management and control of smart lighting enables a further reduction in energy consumption of up to 30%. In both cases, the reduction of light pollution also has a positive impact on the environment.