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made both in cutng energy of safety and security to citzens walking the Such ambitons need not be pipe dreams –
consumpton and costs, and streets afer sunset. especially when the solutons are there for the
in improving the way cites taking. As 25,000 delegates from governments,
functon. global appeal UN agencies and NGOs convene in Paris for COP
This technology is just as applicable to the
Connected lightng systems growing number of megacites as it is to villages. 21, world leaders must put a stake in the ground
to drive faster, decisive acton to combat climate
allow each street light to Bustling metropolises such as Buenos Aires, change. That means setng more ambitous
be remotely monitored mid-sized cites like Szeczin in Poland, and small goals for energy efciency and implementng
and controlled individually, hilltop towns like Cità Sant’Angelo in Italy are processes to achieve them. Government
meaning city managers can all beneftng from upgrading to connected LED regulatory bodies must be prepared to set high
tailor the lightng to suit street lightng systems. but atainable energy standards for buildings
the specifc needs of each and lightng in streets and other public places.
locaton. From a cost-saving It’s also possible for those cites that pioneered
perspectve, this means lights LED street lightng to unlock their full potental We have a responsibility to see these pledges
by making older LED fxtures connected.
can be dimmed or switched of Los Angeles has just overcome this hurdle through, and the clock is tcking. Every day, the
at tmes and in places when global populaton has risen by close to 200,000
they are not required. It also through mobile and cloud-based technologies people; the same number have moved to a
lets city managers see in real from Philips, without the fnancial burden of city; the world consumed 60 billion kWh of
tme where there are faults, upgrading to modern LEDs. electricity; and 30 million tons of carbon dioxide
thus reducing maintenance Adopton of these kind of technologies must were pumped into the atmosphere.
costs and improving become the norm rather than the excepton, if
operatonal efciency. cites are to make meaningful energy efciency The tme to act is now if we are to retain any
improvements. The environmental argument shred of credibility among future generatons.
These atributes also help for taking acton is the most compelling, and We have the beneft of both knowledge and
cites run more smoothly, as technology to reverse these trends – it’s now up
controllers are able to raise has been well documented. But the social to us to break the inerta and apply them for the
lightng to improve visibility and economic case is ofen overlooked and collectve good of the planet.
on demand, such as in the demonstrates that improving energy efciency htp://lightng.philips.com
does not translate to austerity. Recent research
event of road accidents, peak suggests that roughly doubling the annual
trafc periods, poor weather, Harry Verhaar is head of Global Public &
or outdoor events. This not rate of energy efciency improvement from Government Afairs for Philips Lightng.
only empowers cites to 1.3% to 3% would create some 6 million new
make smarter use of their jobs by 2020 – 1.2 million of them in Europe.
Furthermore, it would also cut the world’s
lightng infrastructure but energy bill by more than £1.5 trillion by 2030.
also delivers a greater sense

Back to the future. Philips
has equipped three historic
Italian towns with state-of-
the-art connected LED street
lightng. Cità Sant’Angelo
shown here. Photo: © Philips.

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