• City of Cardiff takes major step to become a smart city and reduce its carbon footprint by installing more than 14,000 connected LED street lights
• System to reduce electricity for lighting by 60%, saving more than GBP 750,000 per year while supporting safety and security of citizens
• Project follows public consultation and offers digital infrastructure for future smart city services

Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Philips Lighting (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced that it has delivered its 1,000^th project using its Philips CityTouch street light management system. The milestone project, involving installing more than 14,000 Philips connected LED street lights in the City of Cardiff, supports safety and security in the Welsh capital and will help reduce the city’s carbon footprint through massive energy savings and increase operational efficiencies. The network of street lights, monitored and controlled remotely by Philips CityTouch, provides Cardiff with a scalable digital infrastructure that may be upgraded to provide additional smart city services.

The Cardiff project marks the 1,000th implementation of Philips CityTouch, just five years after its launch in 2012. The management system is now in use in 37 countries with Cardiff joining cities such as Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Los Angeles and Toronto.

Connected lighting infrastructure 

The first stage of the Cardiff project, the installation of more than 14,000 energy-efficient Philips Luma LED street lights, is nearing completion. Contractor Centregreat is undertaking the installation which will be completed in about half the time originally allotted by the Council. Each light point is being connected wirelessly to Philips CityTouch, which is used to monitor, control and manage the entire lighting network. This enables lighting managers to dim or increase the brightness of street lights to meet the needs of the city at any given moment. For example, brightness levels can be increased near busy crossings or to help emergency services. 

Philips CityTouch also offers a powerful lighting asset management capability. Through a web browser, the lighting manager has multiple screens and a map-based view of the city’s lighting assets and workflows. He or she can monitor network performance in near real time, pin-point faults and dispatch crews to precise locations, eliminating the need for night crews to drive around looking for faulty lights.

Switching to connected LED lighting is expected to reduce electricity used for lighting by 60% with estimated savings for the Council of more than GBP 750,000 per year. This efficiency will contribute to the UK’s goal to lower CO2 emissions by 34% by 2021 and Cardiff’s aspiration to be a one planet city by 2050.

Enhancing quality of life

Cardiff has approximately 360,000 residents and 20 million visitors a year.¹ To determine the impact of lighting on the lives of its citizens, Philips Lighting and Cardiff City Council, along with consultancy firm Jacobs Ltd, researched public views on the city’s current street lighting to assess potential options. The findings were instrumental to Cardiff selecting luminaires giving 3,000 Kelvin warm white light. The research also involved consultation with people with visual and hearing impairment. Philips CityTouch, gives the Council the ability to remotely adjust the level of light for partially-sighted citizens who may want brighter lighting outside their home.

“We looked at a broad range of factors when selecting our new connected lighting system. Our top priorities were to ensure maximum benefit for our citizens and capitalize on potential cost and energy savings. Philips Lighting has given us an infrastructure that will grow with our needs and provide quality light to make our citizens feel safer. With continual monitoring, we can now respond instantly – such as increasing light levels at peak times outside schools and hospitals,” said Chris Jones, Lead Electrical Officer at Cardiff City Council.

“Our connected street lighting will contribute to a safer environment for the citizens of Cardiff and will enable the city to achieve savings in energy and enjoy operational efficiencies. It provides a scalable and flexible digital infrastructure which gives the city options for the future, such as inputting data into smart city dashboards or adding sensors that could, for example, monitor noise or traffic,” said Jacques Letzelter, Head of Public Lighting for Philips Lighting. “It’s fitting that Cardiff represents the 1,000th project to use our Philips CityTouch street lighting management system: a city and a technology shaping the future.” 

Flexible management system

Philips CityTouch is a highly scalable and flexible management system, used to manage lighting in small towns to megacities around the globe. The software system is used to manage Philips luminaires as well as those from other vendors. Cardiff joins successful installations in the UK including in Warrington, Trafford, Isle of Wight, Hounslow, Croydon and Lewisham.  

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¹ Source: figures recorded in 2015 foi.cardiff.gov.uk