Haringey, London
Invisible Connection, Clear Energy Savings: Haringey Goes Smart
Building on a Tradition of Innovation
Haringey Council, one of London’s 32 administrative boroughs, provides a range of services for its 270,000 residents, including street lighting, which plays an important role helping people feel safe. It is the home of Alexandra Palace, where the BBC first broadcast from in the 1930s; proudly illuminated, the monument is a landmark for the borough by night.
Like much of the UK, Haringey made the transition to LED lighting over the last decade, saving energy and residents’ money by switching from legacy sodium and HID systems. IoT solutions have since developed: they offer increased energy savings, more visual comfort for residents and visitors, and can even form the backbone of a smart city system. In 2020, Haringey decided to install a smart lighting solution, where the luminaires are controlled by a Central Management Systems (CMS) - a contract won by Urbis Schréder.
A CMS connects street lighting infrastructure via nodes attached to the luminaire, allowing owners to control a portfolio of assets. Energy use and CO2 carbon emissions will be reduced through the delivery of an efficient, sustainable and economical lighting service to the required British Standards which is controlled and maintained by the CMS. The system will also detect faulty equipment and adjust lighting for areas of concern to support the local community.
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Twin Goals, Smart Solutions
“There’s two elements to the project,” explains Clare Thomas, Head of Applications & Solutions at Urbis Schréder. “There’s energy conservation, and there’s the connected element.” By ensuring every luminaire has a node and connecting these to Schréder EXEDRA, Haringey can truly take control of its assets.
Because we’ve got that lighting knowledge, rather than just being a controls company, we’ve been able to advise them on how to optimise it for energy use, but also think about how they could manage their lighting to give added benefit to their residents.
Achieving these two changes involves enhancing efficiency through using a simple palette of quality materials and maintaining to a high standard - which in turn reduces clutter on streets. That all leads to a safer, more inclusive, street environment.
Global hubs like London have been trying hard to save energy and reduce carbon emissions: cities account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions and urban leaders are turning to innovative solutions to play their part in fighting climate change. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set a target for London to be net zero carbon by 2030 and lighting choices can play a vital role in achieving this.
Diverse Assets, Multiple Stakeholders
Haringey’s lighting assets were diverse, to say the least, with around 20,000 street light points. Some of the street lights are Schréder, some of them are not, however the main priority is that Urbis Schréder is connecting all of it; so they can optimise the control and the management of the assets that they already have.
With interoperability at the heart of Urbis Schréder’s approach, that meant bringing everyone together. TRT manufactured around half the luminaires in Haringey, Marlborough are responsible for maintenance and the council is ultimately in charge.
At the heart of this was working out what residents wanted, with the council asking them for local knowledge about areas across the borough where street lighting levels could be improved. Switching to a CMS means lighting for areas of concern can be instantly adjusted to support the local community.
A CMS connects street lighting infrastructure via nodes attached to the luminaire, allowing owners to control a portfolio of assets. Energy use and CO2 carbon emissions will be reduced through the delivery of an efficient, sustainable and economical lighting service to the required British Standards which is controlled and maintained by the CMS. The system will also detect faulty equipment and adjust lighting for areas of concern to support the local community.
Changing the Light, Without Changing the Lighting
With lighting, more doesn’t automatically mean better. Over-illumination not only wastes energy and carbon but also creates visual pollution. In addition, it affects local flora and fauna and blocks our view of the stars.
As part of getting the CMS up and running, the team began to research appropriate light levels. Uniformity is the most important factor for residential areas, avoiding glare and dark spots between lanterns.
Sometimes light levels need to be raised, as well. Haringey is home to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, one of the biggest names in the Premier League. If there's a match on and there are a lot of residents and visitors going back to the train station, lighting can be increased to help people get home from the game.
The key is that lighting is responsive and adaptive, and that uniformity is more important than just blasting out bright light.
We carried out an experiment over six-weeks with various lighting levels, while delivering calculated uniformity and saving energy. The results showed that residents simply went about their business.
