The City of Darwin introduces smart lighting

15 / 05 / 2020

By CSO Magazine - -

The municipal government of Darwin, the capital of Australia’s northern territory, has announced the introduction of a smart lighting system.

A bold initiative, especially considering the ongoing disruption caused by COVD-19, the system will feature more than 9,500 public and streets converted to run on a new digital system, saving citizens an estimated A$600,000 in annual rates.

The smart network will allow faults to be detected much faster, with initial testing being carried out automatically to save time and money in instances where an attending engineer might be unnecessary.

In addition, the lights themselves will be replaced with energy-efficient LEDs capable of an operational lifespan up to 50 times longer than standard incandescent types, whilst also providing better lighting, reducing energy consumption and lowering costs.

Making Darwin a smart city

The smart lighting will also be able to adjust to environmental changes that occur throughout the days and seasons. It is a positive step towards the further integration of digital infrastructure which will solidify Darwin as a leading smart city in Australia.

“Most of the old lighting system had to be manually adjusted at different times of the year,” said Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis.

“Sunrise and sunset are at different times throughout the year and the new technology means the lighting system automatically senses whether street lights need to be off or on.”

“This smart lighting system complements the Smart Darwin technology rolled out across Darwin city last year and sets a national benchmark.”

“Our community expects the Council to manage assets in the most cost-effective way and this new smart lighting technology does just that,” Mayor Vatskalis added.

Australia: a smart digital leader

Australia is fast becoming one of the global leaders in digital integration of smart technology to revolutionise how energy is generated, distributed and consumed.

In a previous article, Energy Digital explored another development in the northern territory of Queensland: Yurika’s partnership with QIC on a project to deliver smart energy across the latter’s portfolio of real estate.

“Yurika Energy’s Smart Connected Solar technology, coupled with the substantial physical footprint of our portfolio of Australian retail assets will deliver significant efficiencies and large-scale renewable energy supply,” said Michael O’Brien, MD of QIC.

“This landmark partnership is enabled by our ongoing focus on continuous improvement in ESG (environment, social and corporate governance) performance across our Australian retail portfolio.”