Smart Lighting€¦ · services to a specific location.) • The movement of vehicles and/or pedestrians in nearby high-traffic areas, such as shopping malls, parking lots and sports

Smart Lighting Ruthbea Yesner • Adelaide O'Brien | September 2018

An IDC Smart Cities Solution Brief, Sponsored by:

Smart Cities Solution Brief | Smart Lighting

Document #US44294218 © 2018 IDC. www.idc.com | Page 2

What is Smart Lighting?IDC defines smart lighting as LED lighting that is IP connected and provides remote monitoring; programmable, adaptable dimming and brightening; and intelligent energy metering and billing. Smart lighting can be implemented both indoors and outdoors. Smart lighting improves energy efficiency both via the use of LED lights and using real-time monitoring to tailor lighting for the variable use patterns in commercial buildings, roads and public spaces. For outdoor lighting, smart lighting can be part of larger Smart Cities initiatives as the pole infrastructure is used for additional connected devices that collect and transmit data to the community, utilities, the private sector and multiple government departments.

There are interesting examples of connected lighting around the world. In Cardiff, Wales, some 14,000 LED streetlights connect wirelessly to a central dashboard, which monitors and controls the network. Beyond the estimated 50% in energy savings, operators can continuously manage and respond to environmental changes, for example, increasing light levels when schools get out. The infrastructure scales so additional sensors can be easily added in the future. In New York City, the Tappan Zee Bridge will have 2,700 architectural and 500 road surface LED lights managed by a cloud-based system. Both systems will be remotely monitored and controlled in a unified dashboard. The lights will enable the bridge to improve road visibility and safety — and even provide choreographed color light shows.



Benefits of Smart LightingSmart lighting offers numerous benefits in both energy savings and operational efficiencies. These solutions can help cities and municipalities meet their green energy and sustainability targets while offering better services to residents. Smart outdoor lighting even offers new cultural attractions as LED lights are used to illuminate buildings, monuments, and bridges in colors and designs, attracting visitors and tourists to view light shows.

The key benefits of smart lighting include:

• Energy savings: LED bulbs offer energy savings because they deliver the same light at lower wattages than mercury or high-pressure sodium bulbs. Their software enables dimming and brightening according to need. LED lamps also last three to four times longer than legacy bulbs and are estimated to use one-tenth the amount of energy. Energy bills are actual, rather than estimated, which makes utility expenditure planning and reporting more accurate.

• Better customer service and operational savings: The longer life span of LEDs reduces costs for installation and replacement. They can also be remotely monitored and managed, reducing onsite visits and lessening fuel and staff costs. Automatic outage detection also reduces false alarms and complaints and allows building managers or operators to quickly schedule repairs. Improved lighting provides better visibility for drivers and pedestrians.

• Platform for Smart City services: Smart streetlights that use networked LEDs can become a platform for other services with lower incremental costs. The streetlight network can be used for EV charging stations, public WiFi, smart parking, traffic light controls and other community services. Various sensors could be mounted on the lamppost, routed through the network, and managed remotely. Popular use cases include air quality and environmental sensors to determine particulate levels or dangerous particulates, noise sensors for loud disturbances or detecting gunshots and irradiance sensors to assist with grid balancing.

• Better aesthetic: Smart lighting can improve the aesthetic of inside and outside spaces, fostering a more positive community feeling and sense of safety. There is a positive impact on the community such as making roads safer for vehicles, proactive repairs and reduced light pollution or "sky glow."



How Smart Lighting WorksSmart lighting typically includes five central components:

• Physical layer: Both indoor and outdoor lighting connect to the electrical grid and use LEDs, two-lead semiconductor light sources. These are diodes, which emit light when activated. LEDs can easily adjust "dimmability" and illuminate instantly. Activation and dimmability can be controlled remotely to tune illumination based on:

• Weather conditions such as rain, snow, fog and so forth

• Actual daylight levels as opposed to programmed times

• Events — for example, to increase lighting in case of road accidents or other emergencies (Lighting can also be used to provide better visibility and dynamic routing for directing emergency services to a specific location.)

• The movement of vehicles and/or pedestrians in nearby high-traffic areas, such as shopping malls, parking lots and sports and entertainment centers

• Communication layer: The networking pipelines, equipment, and data services connect the LEDs and, in the case of outdoor lighting, other devices mounted on the lamppost to remote control capabilities. Lighting system manufacturers have gravitated toward powerline communications (PLC) to send data over existing power cables, or 6LoWPAN to send data through wireless protocol commonly associated with sensor communications and Internet of Things (IoT) applications or fixed-line IP networks and 4G/5G wireless networks.

• Control layer: This includes software used to control the status of thousands of assets (lampposts, LEDs, other sensors, grid and communication network connections, and other hardware and firmware), which in turn enables optimized maintenance and repair and data flow management to control illumination.

• Application and data management layer: This includes the software capabilities and visualization dashboards used to analyze data about the status of assets, illumination, and energy use and trigger actions that can improve the lighting service, reduce lighting costs, and keep track of electricity bills. The data management layer is also important for data governance purposes.

• Security layer: Connecting smart lighting to the internet increases the exposure to cyberattacks, so security is paramount as the functioning of outdoor lighting impacts the safety and well-being of all workers, residents, and tourists and requires a different approach to the one currently applied on the electricity grid. It is important to note that the control, data management, and security layer components can be deployed in a hybrid architecture with some of them operating at the network edge, for instance through gateways installed on the lamppost, or in a nearby area servicing multiple lampposts, while others can be delivered centrally through cloud services.

Many of these solutions are offered via cloud platforms.



Network Infrastructure and Connectivity are Critical

The value of smart lighting rests on the data that can be transmitted to and from the LED lights via the network. This is the underlying transformation in lighting — that LEDs are remotely programmable if IP connected and can send new, detailed information on functionality back to operators. And because of outdoor lights' ubiquity, height and connection to power, outdoor light poles become ideal for sensor packs, video cameras or other devices that will enable Smart City solutions to be deployed. The network also is the pipe to the cloud platforms that often support smart lighting solutions. All of this rests on fiber or wireless connectivity.

The key consideration is to match the network and connectivity options to the type of solutions deployed. The solution outcomes should drive the technical requirements for network selection. For example, video requires different connectivity than acoustic or environmental sensors. Cities and utilities must consider the pros and cons of different network architectures and connectivity choices that support desired outcomes.

In addition, smart lighting must be scaled to get the benefits. Energy and operational savings are not realized if only one room or floor in a building converts to smart lighting, or one park within a city. Scaling requires educating key partners to:

• Understand the benefits of smart lighting to the community and bring together lighting owners and managers.

• Explore procurement and finance options to pay for smart lighting.

• Determine the desired outcomes that will influence the technology choices such as cloud platform; interoperability standards for hardware, software and data; security requirements; and data analytics.

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Smart Lighting€¦ · services to a specific location.) • The movement of vehicles and/or pedestrians in nearby high-traffic areas, such as shopping malls, parking lots and sports