From Old World lighting to next-gen illumination

Making the switch to smart, networked street lighting can save a city considerable money in energy bills and maintenance costs. Just ask officials with the Romanian city of Brasov, which saw double-digit savings in its electricity and maintenance expenses.

Having completed a yearlong test of the new lighting system in one neighborhood, Brasov is now moving on to deploy the technology from Echelon citywide over the next three years.

A neighborhood test of Echelon’s energy control system for lighting helped Brasov save 28 percent on its energy bills and 40 percent on maintenance costs. Brasov also achieved more control over its streetlights and gained the ability to efficiently distribute power to other applications on the grid.

Echelon’s Romanian partner, Flashnet, built the intelliLIGHT system by combining Echelon’s power line transceivers at every light, Echelon’s SmartServers for segment control and enterprise connectivity, and Flashnet’s central management software. The integrated system is transforming the city’s street lighting network into a multi-functional energy control network.

Allowing control decisions to take place closer to the street improves efforts to balance and control power use and to supply continuous power to other applications such as video surveillance and Wi-Fi access points. Prior to adding Echelon’s technology, these other applications would have switched off along with the street lights.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the early results of our new street lighting deployment,” said Miklos Gantz, vice-mayor of Brasov. “We have cut our energy costs by nearly 30 percent without even changing the existing lamps or ballasts. Based on this success, our plan over the next three years is to deploy this solution for the entire Brasov street lighting system, which includes 18,000 luminaries.”

The system’s central control software gives Brasov individual control and feedback from the luminaries. The city can also use the street lighting grid to supply energy day and night to different applications — without adding new wiring. Additionally, the Echelon solution allows for future functionality, including remote notifications and alarms and real-time monitoring of the street lights’ active/reactive energy use.

Flashnet integrates Echelon powerline transceivers into its intelligent lamp controllers and electromagnetic as well as electronic ballast control. The solution essentially transforms Brasov’s extremely dated streetlights into a next-generation energy control infrastructure.

“Deploying intelligent streetlights is fast becoming a critical mandate for governments around the world, and Eastern European cities such as Braslov are already reaping the cost and efficiency benefits from establishing these energy control networks,” said Anders Axelsson, senior vice president of sales and market development for Echelon’s commercial solutions. “By working with technology from Flashnet and Echelon, Brasov has become much more effective in managing its energy infrastructure and is well on its way to building a smart grid of the future.”