Texel, the largest and most populated island in the Netherlands, aims to become fully energy-neutral by 2020. Tvilight and Dynniq help it achieve this goal with a roll-out of new energy-efficient intelligent street lighting infrastructure. Now, the island stays dark wherever possible and gets illuminated only where it is required. “Light on demand” helped Texel not only to cut the energy consumption but also reduce skyglow, revealing the beautiful natural night sky over the island.
”I am really satisfied with the result. By using LED street lights and dynamic dimming, we save more than 60% of the energy previously spent on street lighting. This is a major achievement.
Stephan KikkertProject Leader, Municipality of Texel
Prior to the project, public lighting on Texel suffered from several serious drawbacks. In addition to being highly energy-consuming, the lamps were burning too bright, giving off a strong orange-tinted glow into the sky. As a result, the light pollution on Texel was so strong that it looked like there was a giant cloud of light hanging over the island. Depending on the location, there was either too much light or too little, which created an uncomfortable living environment. Inefficient street lighting was an obstacle preventing the island from meeting its environmental goals. The way the island was illuminated was simply not right and that needed to change.
In 2016, public lighting on Texel underwent a complete renewal in which all conventional lighting points were replaced by LED street lights. Each lighting point was equipped with a Tvilight wireless luminaire controller (SkyLite or CitySense) capable of regulating the lighting levels of the street light. Intelligent street lighting technology allows Texel to stay dark wherever possible and be illuminated only when it is required.
Having combined new LED street lights and “light on demand”, Texel cut the lighting energy consumption by more than 60% and became the first Dutch municipality where public street lighting is 100% energy-neutral. Because of the drastic reduction of skyglow, the beautiful night sky over Texel has revealed itself again.
Furthermore, intelligent street lighting helped Texel make the first step towards becoming a smart island. In the coming years, there will be numerous possibilities to use existing street lighting infrastructure in numerous innovative ways, such as for measuring the CO2 output or monitoring the roads.
Light only where it is needed thanks to motion-detecting sensors
Energy savings of more than 60% (from 544 MWh to 190 MWh annually)
Minimized light pollution reveals the beautiful natural night sky
Open APIs allow connecting third-party software and applications
Texel is the first Dutch municipality with a 100% energy-neutral public lighting
References: Smart Cities World, ZDNet, Installatie Journaal