LA to control street lights through mobile and cloud-based technologies

The City of Los Angeles (LA) will become the first city in the world to control its street lighting through an advanced Philips management system that uses mobile and cloud-based technologies.

The new technology confirms LA’s Bureau of Street Lighting as a trailblazer in next-generation LED street lighting with a new solution that saves energy, reduces maintenance and provides quality lighting that makes streets safer for LA residents. The technology also supports LA Mayor ERC Garcetti’s Great Streets initiative, promoting the revitalisation of neighbourhoods through more pedestrian-friendly streets for LA’s citizens.

With the addition of the Philips CityTouch connected lighting management system, the LA Bureau of Street Lighting can remotely control lighting fixtures as well as monitor energy use and the status of each light. Using mobile chip technology embedded into each fixture, the street lights are able to identify themselves and network instantly. This smart plug-and-play approach not only reduces the cost of programming each fixture, it also reduces the time of commissioning from days to minutes and eliminates on-site commissioning completely. Furthermore, the entire system can be securely controlled and managed remotely through any web browser.

LA has more LED street lights than any other city in America, with about 7500 centreline miles (12,070.08 centreline km), said Ed Ebrahimian, director of the Bureau of Street Lighting for the City of Los Angeles.

“This required a solution that would allow us to remotely control street lights and accurately report how much energy each light is consuming, while also being easy to install and flexible enough to adapt to broader Smart City plans. We piloted several solutions over the last year and decided to implement CityTouch as it required no further investment or intervention in our infrastructure.”

While CityTouch is already in use in 31 countries, the LA solution is the first in the world connecting directly to each light point using the Philips CityTouch connector node, which can connect street lights from any manufacturer. This extends the life of legacy and LED systems alike, enabling them to become connected light points. CityTouch gives the Bureau of Street Lighting a clear picture of the entire city’s lighting system at its fingertips, with map-based visualisation, charts and diagrams. The combination of LED technology and management software will enable the bureau to better manage its assets, while Angelinos benefit from the increased uptime with safer, well-lit streets.

“Philips CityTouch supports Mayor Garcetti’s Great Streets program by taking the management of LED street lighting to the next level, increasing safety through uptime, ensuring better visibility and providing the capability to further adapt lighting to the needs of a particular neighbourhood,” said Amy Huntington, president of Philips Lighting Americas. “Not only does better lighting management support the city’s energy-efficiency initiatives, but it has a beneficial effect on the streetscape, contributing to more vibrant and engaged communities.”

Image source: Philips