Smart City and energy efficiency: the biggest challenge for our cities in a sustainable way

2022 will be remembered as the year of record temperatures, fires, floods. Added to this is the war in Ukraine, which in addition to the tragic consequences on the people involved has strongly marked the global economy, further profiling the need for energy resilience and alternative sources of supply. While governments launch unprecedented investments to support economic recovery, in cities around the world buildings, transport and infrastructures are often not equipped with those technologies that, in the name of greater attention to the ‘green’ issue, would best allow to face the crucial challenges that await us. According to the IEA (International Energy Agency), today cities are responsible for the consumption of two thirds of the world’s energy, and 70% of global annual emissions. But that is not all. The UN predicts that, by 2050, 68% of the planet’s population will reside in urban areas: it follows that, without a coordinated and programmatic intervention in which everyone intervenes with serious commitment, emissions are destined to increase considerably.

Also thanks to the IEA data, in the world, the electricity used to illuminate the streets is currently equivalent to the total annual consumption of a nation like Germany, accounting for up to 65% of municipal budgets. In the field of street lighting, however, only 3% of the 320 million that make up the park of public lights are equipped with intelligent technology which is why, due to the energy crisis, many cities are now forced to remain in the dark.

Connected LED lighting therefore plays a decisive role in being one of the most accessible and effective technologies for urban infrastructures, saving up to 80% of energy. Smart street lighting offers municipalities the ability to manage peaks in electricity demand, instantly attenuating light intensity (and therefore consumption) when necessary. If all EU countries switched to 100% LED lighting, the energy savings achieved would amount to around 59 billion euros a year: funds that could then be redirected to other initiatives, always aimed at guaranteeing zero emissions. of CO2 by 2050.

In the face of greater urbanization, the quality of city life must be improved by protecting the environment which, especially in these times, involves the joint safeguarding of resources and costs. For this reason, the ideal of “intelligent and sustainable city” becomes more and more central and necessary Signify proposes the Interact platform, a connected LED lighting management software capable of improving urban services and the safety of citizens as well as enhancing public spaces and optimizing sports facilities such as sports halls and stadiums. This system, in fact, is able to reduce energy costs by monitoring performance and optimizing the management of the entire lighting system, even remotely, promptly detecting faults, allowing maximum efficiency and safety. All in real time. In essence, Interact provides complete control of both urban lighting and of structures and buildings, thus reducing CO2 emissions. The city lights can be adjusted and customized according to the time of day, the season or for public events. You can therefore increase the brightness where an accident or crime has occurred, and decrease it by 30% in the middle of the night when the streets are deserted; connected dynamic lighting can contribute to enhancing parks, squares and places of interest, making them more engaging and transforming them into spaces to remember.

The Interact software of Signify has already seen three important applications in Italy but as the company claims “We are only at the beginning”. In Codroipo (Udine), the transition to connected LED lighting through the Interact City platform was recently made: an ambitious project designed to bring great benefits to the environment and the community. In fact, it will be possible to obtain electricity savings of up to 1,300,000 kWh per year corresponding to over 60% of the reference annual consumption. With this lighting renovation project it will also be possible to ensure better energy efficiency with a saving of approximately 2,600 tons of CO₂quantity absorbed by approx 30,000 trees / year, and a redevelopment of the infrastructures of the territoryboth of the capital and of the Fractions.

In Florence, on the other hand, connected light made it possible to redesign the façade of the famous Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in a sustainable way. Signify’s LED luminaires combined with Interact Landmark, the connected system dedicated to architectureallow the remote monitoring and management of the lighting scenarios allowing to further enhance, in the eyes of citizens and tourists, the exterior of the famous building thanks to thedynamic and colorful architectural lighting.

Lighting renewed in a sustainable key also for the new ice rink in Varese, now Acinque Ice Arena. “In increasingly smart city contexts lighting plays a fundamental role in terms of energy efficiencyand not only ”declares Andrea Bernardini, Commercial Leader Systems & Services Public of Signify Italy, Greece, Israel. “Optimized lighting management also plays an important role in sports facilities. In this case, for example, it will be possible to improve the experience of athletes and spectators, creating plays of colored light capable of making sporting events even more memorable and exciting, preparing the structure to host important events such as the Olympics. Winter. All while optimizing energy consumption “.