Cost reduction and improvements of the lighting environment for both residents and local wildlife are part of Bærum municipality’s sustainable efforts. In 2018 mercury luminaires, which are neither environmentally friendly nor energy efficient, were banned, and the municipality had to replace the old light points. This was considered a good opportunity for a shift to modern Smart City infrastructure.
Smart city services
Today smart lighting provides 80 percent of the light points of Bærum’s street lighting. 10.000 light points are connected to Datek light control system with two-way communication. This solution also includes opportunities for other Smart City services such as traffic counting and air quality measurement. Bærum municipality is now testing the first mobility sensors connected to streetlights.
The municipality can currently control the light level in each light fixture. In addition, they have access to status, notification of faults as well as energy consumption in all luminaires. This gives us an opportunity to reduce energy consumption, improve the lighting environment, reduce light pollution, and streamline daily operations and maintenance says Kirill Semenov, project manager in Bærum municipality.
Front runner Fornebu
Fornebu is the test area for the municipality's climate work, and the area is under development for a green and urban space. Almost all outdoor lighting at Fornebu has been replaced with modern energy-efficient LED fixtures with a control node connected to an IoT radio network. Streets, cycle paths, underpasses, school yards, kindergartens and football pitches all have lighting that can be individually adapted to the various needs throughout the day. The light is switched on and off based on sensors that measure the amount of daylight.
The lighting fixtures change the light levels throughout the day based on different needs. An example is the pond by the Telenor building, where salamanders are particularly exposed to light pollution when they are migrating in the spring and autumn. The municipality uses the technology in the light fixtures to lower the brightness down to 20 percent so that the salamanders are not disturbed.
Safety and well-being
Energy saving plays a significant role in achieving the UNs sustainable goals. For cities and municipalities there is a great opportunity for smart energy use. Bærum municipality optimizes the electricity consumption in outdoor lighting and contributes to the municipality becoming a good place to live and work.
- It is important to have good outdoor lighting in urban areas. It provides safety and well-being. By using smart technology, we have been able to maintain security while reducing unnecessary light use. In this way we have saved costs and reduced light pollution, which also benefits local wildlife, says mayor of Bærum municipality, Lisbeth Hammer Krogh.