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Remote-management system for public lighting: what it is and what your municipality can expect

Written by Ignacio Seoane | 10/4/22 9:12 AM

One of the key aspects for the proper operation of a typical city – and one of the essential services offered to a municipality’s residents – lies in its lighting system. Specific research has revealed that 60% of the total energy consumption is intended for lighting up facilities – public lighting would account for 50% of the total consumption – and has an economic and environmental impact on the community.

With this in mind, a system achieving more efficient consumption may be beneficial for many areas. In this respect, one of today’s most efficient systems is the remote-management system for public lighting.

We, at Televes Corporation, would like to give you every key about this system and show you all the advantages that may bring to municipalities keen on implanting and using it.

Challenges of urban lighting

Nowadays, there is a number of reasons for having an efficient urban lighting system: to make some areas safer and to create nicer spaces for neighbors at night. Today, a new challenge needs to be faced, though: achieving a more sustainable lighting system.

The growth of cities makes it necessary to implement more sustainable lighting models able to reduce the environmental impact. Actually, Spain leads the ranking of UE countries with the highest levels of light pollution. That is why using systems that optimize consumption may help reduce drastically both the environmental impact and the levels of light pollution, while still cutting down on the global consumption.

What is a remote-management system for public lighting and what are their advantages?

Remote-management systems for public lighting is one of the most efficient light solutions you will find these days. Its performance is based on the remote monitoring of public lighting installations. Each line or luminaire features an independent control system that allows to turn it off or dim the light individually. The electric parameters can also be monitored, so the system will trigger an automatic alert in case of malfunction or abnormal operation.

In addition to the manual control, with remote-management systems for public lighting you can arrange schedules and install sensors to turn on the luminaires when detecting near-by presence or the light is low.

Yet another interesting feature of this system is that you can collect data and information about the lighting system. With these data, you can apply analysis optimizing the consumption and render the lighting service more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable in every single way.

What should a remote-management system include?

The advantages of energy savings brought by a remote-control system for public lighting also require a series of specific features. If it has them, you will obtain more agile reparation processes, more efficient maintenance and significant energy savings that will have an influence on both the environment and your economy.

Below, you will find the main features that these systems should include:

A system compatible with parts from different manufacturers

As for many municipalities, systems opt for different manufacturers to manage their public lighting or concession contracts change. For this reason, a remote-management system must be interoperable and able to connect to devices of different brands or third-party systems to manage and analyze the data generated by the system.

Scalability

Municipalities experience growth, so a good remote-management system for public lighting should be able to grow in parallel to the town´s needs. Scalability should be flexible enough so the operational continuity of the installed lighting system is not affected, or requires any structural change in the implemented system.

Ability to include new devices or other ways to collect data

Note that one of the major assets of remote-management systems for public lighting is the collection of information that will be useful to optimize consumption, to arrange schedules or establish protocols that adapt to the specific city.

Reliability and tested to support malfunction of any kind

Lighting infrastructures must run on a 24/7 basis, so it must be ready to deal with any eventuality or malfunction that may interrupt the lighting management without affecting overall service.