Smart Energy

Echelon Powers Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority Lighting Program

The Government of Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority (PTA) is responsible for the operation, management, and maintenance of all urban heavy rail, bus, and ferry infrastructure in Perth, Western Australia. Committed to providing the safest, most efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective service possible for more than 140 million passengers annually, PTA has pursued technical innovation to improve lighting management. In an Australian first, PTA has selected Echelon’s powerline technology to power its network-wide lighting asset management and control program.

In 2009, PTA began a trial of an Echelon-powered “Zoneworks” emergency lighting and exit sign monitoring system, manufactured by Clevertronics, that provides real-time monitoring and automated compliance for its life-safety lighting. Now this program is being rolled out in throughout PTA’s region, with several thousand points now under centralized management.

Following the success of the emergency lighting program, PTA approached LVX Group, an Echelon Solutions Partner and Lighting Engineered Solutions Company, to develop a similar asset management strategy for its general lighting. After successful trials on selected sites, PTA adopted LVX Group’s engineered solution in early 2013. Incorporating Echelon’s CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller (OLC) and SmartServer 2.0 Controller, the solution was designed, developed, and installed by LVX Group as a part of its “Fit & Forget” Lighting Asset Management Program.

The Echelon-powered solution enhances efficiency, compliance, and costs for both reactive and preventive maintenance as well as capital projects. Improvements in LED warranty accountability alone are expected to save millions of dollar per year, because the monitoring system enabled by the Echelon-powered solution can determine promptly if LED lamps have failed inside the manufacturer’s warranty period. In addition, luminaires can be programmed to save energy; parking lot and platform lights can be dimmed at times when no traffic is expected; and the lighting system alerts maintenance personnel to the exact locations of failed lamps, saving time and money while optimizing safety.

The PTA is in the process of implementing Echelon technology to upgrade its transit platforms, service and stowage yards, tunnels, and parking lot lights to controllable, monitored LED lighting.

You might also like:

• Echelon’s SmartServer 2.0 Controller web page
• Echelon CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller (OLC) datasheet
• Government of Western Australia - Public Transport Authority website
• LVX Group’s Fit & Forget Lighting Asset Management website

 

Echelon Streetlight Control Being Used at Naval Surface Warfare Center in Maryland

A smart, multi-level, demand-sensitive LED street lighting network demonstration using Echelon’s Outdoor Lighting Controllers (OLCs) and SmartServer helped the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NWSC) to achieve over 75% electrical energy savings.  Echelon worked with researchers at two universities, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion, to develop the LED street lighting network for the Maryland-based NSWC.[1]  The previous street lighting system used high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps with no dimming controls, which were monitored for one year to provide a baseline of electricity consumption to compare with the new LED-based system with Echelon controllers.

This new network allows NSWC to monitor and control lighting intensity based on both time and traffic flow. The network’s building blocks include LED light fixtures, a traffic sensor, and Echelon streetlight controllers and SmartServer. 

In addition to a tremendous reduction in energy consumption, the NSWC is realizing the added value of significantly better light quality, the elimination of mercury waste disposal, and the ability to dynamically control dimming levels with motion sensors.

“We’ve demonstrated at the NSWC that replacing existing HPS-based street lighting systems with intelligent LED systems controlled by Echelon technology can significantly reduce electricity consumption,” said Mark Carter,Echelon’s director of sales. “Similar results are being are being achieved for varying outdoor lighting projects around the world in municipal, parking lot, and parking garage lighting applications.” 

 You Might Also Like:

• Echelon’s Smart Street Lighting web page
• Echelon’s CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller web page
• Echelon’s SmartServer web page
• The Naval Surface Warfare Center web site
• Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) News web page

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[1] See http://www.serdp.org/News-and-Events/In-the-Spotlight/Intelligent-and-Energy-Efficient-LED-Street-Lighting

Echelon, ITOCHU, and Mitsui Pilot Street Lighting Control Systems in Japan

Several leading Japanese cities are now piloting street lighting management systems based on technology from Echelon and two of Japan’s leading solution providers, ITOCHU Corporation and Mitsui.

Varun Nagaraj, senior vice president at Echelon, said: “The use of a standards-based control system allows the cities in Japan to manage life-cycle procurement costs by providing them with a choice of luminaires, an expense that is often more than 80% of the cost of the project.”  

The street lighting management systems being piloted are built on the open ISO/IEC 14908 standard and implemented using Echelon’s Power Line Communications (PLC) transceivers and segment controllers, notably Echelon’s new CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controllers.

In the city of Tsukuba, Echelon partner ITOCHU Corporation has installed the second phase of a pilot, in cooperation with major Japanese lighting device manufacturers Panasonic and Toshiba. 

ITOCHU, as Echelon’s master distributor in Japan, also collaborated with a new market entrant, Mitsui & Company, for two additional pilot sites: in the city of Higashi Matsushima, part of the earthquake-damaged region of Tohoku, and at the campus of Hiroshima City University in the city of Hiroshima.

The ISO 14908-based solution being deployed in the pilots supports a variety of luminaires, ranging from LEDs from Toshiba and GE to ceramic metal halide lights from GS Yuasa. These lighting systems using Echelon-based lighting control system offer numerous benefits, including:

• Compared to just using high-efficiency lamps, street light management systems further lower energy use and reduce the cost of operating the street light infrastructure.
• In Hiroshima, where rising Japanese electricity prices now rival high-cost Asia-Pacific locations such as Australia and the Philippines, the change-out of high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps to dimmable LEDs is lowering per-lamp electricity consumption by more than 50%, or nearly 120Kg of CO₂ per year, and is expected to save approximately $240 per year per lamp. The use of the control system to set dimming schedules based on weather and traffic patterns delivers 20% to 30% more savings compared to just shifting from HPS to LED.
• Additionally, all the pilots involve the monitoring of lamps from a centralized city location – so failures can be identified and responded to quickly, thereby increasing public safety while reducing maintenance costs.

You might also like:

• ITOCHU’s website
• Mitsui’s website
• Echelon’s Power Line Communications webpage
• CPD3000 Outdoor Lighting Controllers webpage

 

Siemens Subsidiary OSRAM Chooses Echelon’s Control Networking Technology for Street Lighting System

Echelon announced a street lighting customer win with OSRAM, a subsidiary of Siemens and one of the leading light manufacturers in the world. OSRAM, based in Germany, will offer a standards-based street lighting management system that uses Echelon’s Power Line Communications (PLC) transceivers and segment controllers.

OSRAM’s light management system will work with a range of luminaires – from emerging technologies such as LEDs to existing technologies such as induction lighting. OSRAM’s street light management system can lower energy use by up to 40% and reduce the cost of operating the street light infrastructure.

Because Echelon’s control networking technology is based on the open ISO/IEC 14908 standard, OSRAM will be able to quickly bring its solution to market and add differentiating capabilities.

Varun Nagaraj, senior vice president at Echelon, said: “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with OSRAM as we collectively pursue our vision of street lighting energy efficiency and quality.”

Recommended Links:

• OSRAM website
• Echelon’s Power Line Communications transceivers web page

Thailand Highway Authority Chooses Echelon-Based Lighting

Echelon’s first Thailand highway project is set to begin rolling out with a pilot for new highway lighting, a specialized subset of outdoor and street lighting.

The state-owned EXAT (Express Authority of Thailand, or ETA) owns about 200km of tolled expressways around Thailand. As part of its commitment to quality, efficiency, and fiscal responsibility, EXAT has initiated a pilot project with a long-term goal of improving highway lighting performance and costs.

EXAT chose an Echelon-based solution mainly because Echelon’s lighting control technology will enable EXAT to remotely identify failures in highway lights, thus reducing the organization’s maintenance costs.

The EXAT pilot includes Echelon’s SmartServer 2.0 Segment Controllers and nearly 150 CPD 3000 Outdoor Lighting Controllers, along with management software from StreetLight.Vision (SLV). The solution is being delivered via Echelon’s partner, IRCP (International Research Corporation Public Co., Ltd., of Thailand), and specifically through IRCP’sINEC (Intelligent Enterprise Computing) subsidiary.

The solution will be installed early in the second half of 2013.

You might also like:

• Echelon’s SmartServer 2.0 Controller web page
• Echelon’s CPD 3000 Outdoor Lighting Controller web page
• Echelon Smart Street Lighting web page
• Echelon’s CRD 3000 PL-to-RF Street Light Bridge datasheet 

Echelon and PT Lahan Energy Enable Intelligent Street Lighting System in Jakarta, Indonesia

Echelon and PT Lahan Energy – the leading provider of smart lighting in Indonesia – recently supported Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in demonstrating a smart street lighting system in Jakarta that yielded 62% energy savings and better light output.

Smart street lighting – PJU pintar in Indonesian – will play an important part in Indonesia’s goal of becoming a leading country in the race toward sustainable development and energy. This project in Jakarta, which with more than 10 million people is Indonesia’s and Southeast Asia’s largest city, is an important proof point in support of this goal.

The intelligent street light control solution is built around induction light fixtures from AMKO, outdoor lighting controllers (one per fixture) and segment controllers (one per segment) from Echelon, and management software from StreetLight.Vision. With this solution, ESDM now has full, real-time control over the street lights in the pilot: the light level, the condition and status of the lamps, and energy consumption at the fixture and at the segment cabinet level. Consequently, ESDM can implement more intelligent dimming strategies that result in lower energy consumption without compromising effective light quality.

You might also like:

• Echelon’s SmartServer web page

• Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Republic Indonesia website

• Streetlight.Vision’s website

Echelon Named in ‘Internet of Things’ Award

After 9,000 votes for more than 140 projects during two weeks of voting, Postscapes announced its 2012 Internet of Things Awards – and Echelon was named in the Smart City Application category. Echelon was singled out for our Smart Street Lighting solutions.

Specifically, the awards site noted: “this lighting from Echelon allows a city to easily schedule lights on or off and set dimming levels of individual or groups of lights so a city can intelligently provide the right level of lighting needed by time of day, season, or weather conditions. Cities using Echelon’s solutions reduce their street lighting energy use by an average of 30% in addition to any savings from more efficient lights.”

Postscapes aggregates and disseminates information about the Internet of Things, which it describes as “the convergence of the physical world with the digital.” Its annual Internet of Things Award is meant to highlight innovations pointing toward the future of networked landscapes. The 2012 awards covered nine categories, including the Smart City Application  in which Echelon was named.

You might also like:

• Echelon’s Smart Street Lighting web page
• Echelon Green Energy Streetlights video
• Echelon white paper: Monitored Outdoor Lighting
• Press release: Echelon Demonstrates Fast Payback Smart Street Lighting and Smart Buildings Solutions Built On Its Energy Control Networking Platform

 

How Can Street Lighting Be More Efficient?

Street lights consume up to 40% of a city’s utility bill. And, cities account for 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions. But what if street lighting could be made more efficient so that it could reduce energy costs and help cities cut back on their carbon footprint?

That’s where Echelon’s Smart Street Lighting solutions come in. Whether it’s quickly identifying problems with one or multiple lights, or controlling on/off cycles to boost efficiency without diminishing safety, cities that use Echelon smart street lighting approaches can reap enormous benefits. These smart cities can reduce energy costs by up to 30%, reduce maintenance costs by another 20%, and create greener, safer environments with Echelon.

This More Efficient Street Lighting video demonstrates how Echelon’s Smart Street Lighting solutions works – regardless of luminaire type —to put the control over green, efficient street lighting directly into the hands of city operators.

Recommended Links:

• Echelon Smart Street Lighting solution web page
• Echelon Smart Street Lighting brochure
• Press Release: At Light+Building 2012, Echelon demonstrated the fast payback of its Smart Street Lighting solutions powered by the Control Operating System (COS)

Echelon takes home the Smart City Award at Smart Grid Paris 2012

Echelon was honored by the Smart Grid Paris 2012 with the Smart City award for the Sénart en Essonne street light control network project. The cities have been able to cut energy use of the street lights by 35%.  Additionally, maintenance costs have been reduced by the system’s ability to quickly identify failures and issues before the citizens even notice. This project has enabled own council’s objective to not only reduce costs, but to contribute to sustainable growth.

Echelon’s Smart Street Lighting Solution transforms streetlights into intelligent, energy-efficient, remotely managed networks that deliver dependable lighting at a lower cost than low-energy luminaires alone. Over the long term, Smart Street Lighting serves as a foundation for building a Smart City.

Riyadh and Mecca Deploys Street Lighting Solution

Both cities, Riyadh and Mecca, wanted to control and monitor the street lights and network them in their municipalities, and that monitoring of the lights would provide municipal management with data stating the condition of the light bulbs, energy consumption, system malfunctions, energy leakage, possible cable cut and door access status at lamp and power supply cabinet level.

Check out the latest case study to learn how they fulfilled this need: http://www.echelon.com/customers/smart-cities/docs/saudi-arabia.pdf.