SPIE : makes smart lighting even smarter

Middelburg, 5 January 2021 - SPIE Nederland, the dutch subsidiary of the SPIE Group, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communication, is participating in a European pilot project to explore how public lighting within municipalities can be made even more sustainable by applying smart technologies. In the Netherlands, this pilot project is taking place in Middelburg.

Emanating from the European Regional Development Fund, the 'SMART-SPACE - Smart Sustainable Public Spaces across the NWE Region' project has started a study in collaboration with municipalities, universities, businesses - including SPIE - and various other organizations to make the current 'smart lighting' even smarter and thus save even more energy. Four municipalities in Europe are taking part in this: Middelburg (Netherlands), Tipperary (Ireland), Sint Niklaas and Ostend (Belgium). One of the features of this project is how sensors can be used to optimise lighting. For example, lighting levels can be scaled up in the presence of large groups of people or, instead, dimmed when no one is on the street. The sensor system can distinguish between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Annemijn Smid, Project Manager at SPIE, is keen to take part in this study : 'It is a special project to be involved with. The translation of our needs and preferences into technology makes it very interesting. How can we make the step from desired experiences to the corresponding technology?'

'Safety first' is a key issue for all municipalities. However, public lighting can often be dimmed to save energy, often resulting in a trade-off between safety and energy savings. The sensor system from this pilot project can optimise this balance by, for example, providing safer nightlife and commuting, easier orientation and enhanced event and shopping experiences thanks to dynamic lightning. As such, quite a varied range of scenarios in urban environments is addressed.

This project, running within the Interreg NWE program, will be completed at the end of 2021 and must, in the long term, stimulate the roll-out of smart public lighting to other small and medium-sized municipalities. This initiative is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.