National roadmap for smarter street lighting

The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) has forged a new initiative to advance Australia’s uptake of LED road lighting. The government-backed Street Lighting and Smart Controls Program (SLSC) brings together the multiple sectors that contribute to the street lighting and smart controls industry in Australia.

Backed by the Australian Government’s National Energy Productivity Plan, the SLSC strives to increase the nation’s uptake of LED road lighting and integrated smart controls in order to achieve greater energy efficiency and to further the smart cities initiative.

According to IPWEA CEO Robert Fuller, “Australia cannot afford to be lag behind the rest of the OECD world in the rapid rollout of LED and smart control lighting and technology. Only about 11% of Australian lighting has converted to LEDs, yet there are compelling reasons to switch over.

“Cost savings for cash-strapped councils, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, less maintenance, longer life, reduced road accidents, increased safety and security measures and a raft of other proven benefits have been substantiated by cities overseas that have installed hundreds of thousands of LED lights over the last five to six years.

“The smart controls technology will be the ‘digital disrupters of cities’ — the Uber analogy of how people will interact with cites in the near future,” said Fuller.

Industry bodies, commercial lighting and smart controls suppliers, energy networks and the Australian Government will unite to produce a two-year plan of coordinated action to harmonise the industry under the SLSC Roadmap, which is currently being drafted. New Zealand has also been invited to join the program. 

“While there have definitely been good pockets of LED installations — usually in capital cities, such as the showcase of Sydney City Council — the vast uptake potential for councils across Australia has yet to be embraced.

“We acknowledge that there are some regulatory hurdles and historical matters that we believe can be overcome with a will to move forward. The SLSC Program, being presented at last month’s COAG meeting, was a positive start in this change process.

“The industry has committed to work collaboratively and to pool their knowledge for the sake of getting this new technology right for Australia. We are too small a player on the world scene not to be adopting proven and leading-edge technologies and systems from overseas,” said Fuller.