Lighting control with motion sensors: pioneering pilot project for adaptive LED street lighting in Aarau

The new street lighting in Furorastrasse was implemented with 23 SITECO Streetlight 10 LED luminaires, each equipped with a TVILIGHT CitySense Plus PIR motion sensor, all wirelessly connected and controlled via TVILIGHT lighting control. Thanks to the LED luminaires from Siteco and TVILIGHT technology, the municipality of Aarau can switch and dim the outdoor lighting as required via wireless and software control, significantly reducing energy consumption.

Energy-saving street lights thanks to adaptive lighting

The new intelligent lighting network in Furorastrasse automatically dims down to sleep mode, which reduces the brightness of each Streetlight 10 LED luminaire to 20%. As soon as human activity is detected – triggered by pedestrians, cyclists or vehicles – all the defined luminaires fade up to a standard-compliant lighting level of 100%. After holding this level for 15 seconds, they go back into sleep mode.

TVILIGHT CitySense Plus: industry-leading street light motion sensor

The TVILIGHT CitySense Plus passive infrared sensor in Furorastrasse, which has been specifically designed for outdoor use, keeps an eye on its environment with four different sensor ranges. Regardless of the weather, it records the movement of pedestrians and vehicles, while reliably blocking out the movement of trees, water and animals. If, for example, the detection range of movements is to be increased or decreased in one area, individual ranges of the sensor can be activated or the detection sensitivity can be adjusted gradually.

For optimum functionality and motion detection, the TVILIGHT CitySense Plus PIR motion sensor is mounted at a height of four or five meters, in this case in the middle of the eight- or ten-meter lighting masts.

TVILIGHT CityManager software: easy to set up and manage

The entire lighting system is set up and managed via the TVILIGHT CityManager software where the motion sensors and the dimming profiles of the luminaires (e.g. dimming level and dimming duration) as well as the reactions of the individual luminaires to the motion sensors are configured. Using this web application, Eniwa can make all adjustments and keep an eye on the system via a smartphone, tablet or PC.

This means that the motion sensors are easy to fine-tune individually from a desk, for example to provide adequate time for road users and residents to become accustomed to different lighting conditions as the luminaires are faded up and down between 20 and 100%. The TVILIGHT CityManager software also helps reduce maintenance costs in Aarau. The luminaires constantly send exact status information – in the case of a luminaire failure, for example, an error message about the type and location of the failure which allows for a technician to be sent directly to this luminaire, saving time and resources.

Reliable wireless connection between software and luminaire

The TVILIGHT CityManager software independently connects to the radio transmitter (known as a light management gateway) installed in Furorastrasse via a secure VPN internet connection. This transmitter manages the entire radio network with all 23 street lights.

Each street light receives switching and dimming commands from the central software via its luminaire controller and saves its individual lighting plan locally in the controller. This means that the lighting is entirely automatic each day without receiving new switching commands. This enables the municipality of Aarau to disconnect its street lighting from the mains during the day, since the luminaire controller automatically resumes its program once it is supplied with power again.

SITECO Streetlight 10: pioneering LED street lights

The SITECO Streetlight 10 LED luminaire is not only the perfect choice for Furorastrasse thanks to its timeless “classic” design. It also combines the efficiency of LED technology with precise light distribution and the outstanding quality of the SITECO 3-zone faceted reflector. The result: extremely uniform glare-free illumination for best lighting results and maximum visual comfort.

Successful pilot project from Eniwa and SITECO

Eniwa was very satisfied with the results of the pilot project in cooperation with SITECO: “With Furorastrasse in Aarau we have taken a first step toward being a smart city. The dynamic light offers maximum road safety with minimum energy consumption. Thanks to the smart system, we were able to achieve additional energy savings of 31% compared to a standard LED solution with permanently programmed downtimes. Implementation was quick and smooth thanks to the perfect support offered by SITECO. At the beginning of 2019, we would like to carry out another dynamic project together on a semi-rural pathway.”

The TVILIGHT lighting control solution also gives Aarau the option of installing more smart city solutions, such as security cameras and environmental and traffic sensors, and using them for intelligent lighting control.