Case Studies

Kirklees (Huddersfield), West Yorkshire, England

With approximately 52,000 street lights, Kirklees Municipal Borough Council decided not to follow some other UK Municipal authorities in taking the highly controversial decision to switch off its street lights at certain times of the day. Instead it became one of the first local authorities to pilot the revolutionary new LeafNut monitoring and control system from Harvard Engineering, which uses ground-breaking wireless technology to monitor and dim street lights.

• LeafNut successfully trialled over a 20 month period.
• Initial pilot delivered outstanding results with 30% extra street lighting installed and only 5% increase in usage.
• Savings of 100kg carbon emissions per street light, per year.
• Accurate inventory information enables street lighting engineers to identify failed maps quickly and easily.
• On site maintenance costs reduced though ease of monitoring.
• Kirklees MBC on course to meet Climate Change Act targets.

Westminster City Municipal Borough Council, London, England

Westminster City Council in London was keen to introduce a solution to eliminate wasted energy from its 15,000 street lights, in an effort to meet new directives set by Parliment which require the City Council to save 60% of carbon emmissions by 2050 - a figure which could rise to 80% as interim targets have been missed.

• Potential to save over 1.5 million kg of carbon, £282,000 in energy costs per year and a further £18,000 on Carbon Tax Credits.
• Flexible time profiles enable different lighting levels to be applied across main road networks, maintaining ful intensity at key road traffic junctions.
• Residential street lights dimmed by 25% in the early hours of the morning with no noticeable difference.
• Crime unaffected in residential areas where the street lights have been dimmed during twilight hours.
• The system allows street lights to be brought back to full intensity at the touch of a button.
• Reduced night scouting and improved maintenance planning for operators.

Durham Municipal Borough Council, County Durham, England

Durham County Council has 86,000 street lights and illuminated traffic signs to maintain and was looking to install a system which would eliminate waste energy so that it could comply with the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC).

Engineers at the Council were keen to introduce a system that would allow them to dim street lights on its main roads, particularly during times of very low traffic volumes, rather than actually switching them off completely - a controversial option that some Councils have chosen to implement.

• Street lights dimmed by up to 30% on a 4.5 mile section of the A167 without compromising driver safety.
• Lighting levels reduced on the A167 during times of low traffic volumes but maintained on areas leading onto the A167.
• Flexibility of the system enables street lights to be brought back to full power at the touch of a button.
• On course to comply with its Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) by reducing the amount of energy the street lights use.

North Somerset Municipal Borough Council, UK

North Somerset County Council was keen to introduce a new street lighting monitoring and control system that would provide them with the ability to dim lights at various locations and at different times of the night.

• Savings of 100kg of carbon emissions per street light per year provides North Somerset Council with the potential to save over 2.1 million kg of carbon and an estimated £960,000 in energy costs per year.
• Flexible time profiles enabled different lighting levels to be applied across main road networks in different locations.
• The system allowed street lights to be brought back to full power at a 'touch of a button'.
• Remote monitoring has eliminated the need for physical scouting by maintenance engineers and improved maintenance planning for operators.
• LeafNut supports the introduction of future meter administering through the use of a CMS system, achieving greater energy savings and reductions in carbon emissions.

Marsh Farm Housing Estate, Luton, Bedfordshire, England

Luton Borough Council, working in partnership with The Marsh Farm Community Development Trust, was looking to install a new state-of-the-art street lighting system that would not only provide more light for residents of the Marsh Farm Housing Estate, but one that was also energy efficient, capable of allowing it to reduce its energy bills and also eliminate the need for physical scouting to check for failed lights across the estate.

• The LeafNut system was successfully linked to Harvard's Cosmo ballasts operating and dimming Philips CosmoPolis lamps inside Philips Iridium luminaries to provide brighter street lighting.
• Resident's safety improved through the installation of better lighting, which can be operated at 75% power without compromising safety.
• The flexibility of the LeafNut system enables street lights to be brought back to full power at a 'touch of a button' in emergency situations.
• Savings of 100kg of carbon emissions per street light, per year provided Luton Borough Council with the opportunity to make substantial reductions in its CO2 emissions and make savings in energy costs.
• Wireless remote monitoring has eliminated the need for physical night scouting by maintenance engineers and improved response times for replacing failed lamps.

Zürs Ski Resort, Arlberg Region, Austria

The village of Zürs is a popular ski resort situated in the Arlberg Region of Austria in the Alps. The Municipal Council in neighbouring Lech, which manages the street lighting in Zürs, needed a unique solution, one that would provide a flexible way to manage very specific street lighting requirements during the busy tourist season.

The solution also had to allow operators to apply a different approach during the quieter summer months.

• LeafNut provides greater flexibility to manage and apply different lighting profiles to specific areas of Zürs simultaneously.
• The 'All Off' function can be quickly and easily applied to enhance the viewing of the regular firework displays held in Zürs.
• Accurate inventory information enables Lech Municipal Council to reimburse hotels and owners of commercial buildings for powering street lights.
• Easily retrofitted to existing street lights by simply adding a small antenna to the lamp heads which is plugged in to the electronic ballast, with no need for additional wiring.
• Zürs has significantly reduced its carbon emissions and energy costs as a result of dimming and switching off street lights at specific times.