Edinburgh To Install 64K LED Lights with Smart Controls

Wireless technology developer Telensa will provide new smart streetlight controls for 64,000 LED lights around the city of Edinburgh, Scotland as part of the city’s energy efficiency strategy. The deployment is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. Telensa will also be installing its wireless central management system – PLANet – a wireless central management system (CMS) that enables centralized remote control of the city’s lighting. It consists of wireless nodes connecting individual lights, dedicated wireless connectivity, and a central management application which allows lights to be controlled remotely.

Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, said, “We are rolling out energy efficient street lights with smart remote controls to communities right across the Capital, starting this summer and continuing on a ward-by-ward basis until the end of 2020. We’re making every effort to minimize disruption to residents and businesses throughout and will target information to communities as the roll-out comes to their area.”

The system will be able to track the performance of all streetlights in real time, allowing faults to be quickly identified, tracked, and repaired, thus avoiding the need for surveillance patrols to physically identify broken lights. It also measures actual energy consumption, submitting information directly to the Meter Administrator and increasing the accuracy of energy billing. The system is expected to pay for itself by the reduction of energy and maintenance costs that it delivers and by the establishment of an infrastructure framework for further smart city development. In future, the streetlight poles can act as hubs for smart city sensors.

Will Gibson, the Founder of Telensa, said, “We are working with our partners in Edinburgh to deliver an efficient and smart street lighting control system, one that will be responsive to citizens’ needs for decades to come. We’re looking forward to working together build a new generation of smart city applications, all enabled by the city’s lighting network.”