How intelligent lights make cities smarter, safer and greener

According to a 2019 report by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the country has seen 6.4 million people migrate to big cities where they can find better jobs and earn more income.

Over the years, the rapid increase in population in urban areas has negatively affected the cities’ infrastructure and the people’s quality of life.

In 2019, the government issued Resolution No. 52 to develop smart cities nationwide by 2025. They aim to build at least three smart cities in key southern, northern, and central economic regions by 2030.

Innovative technologies in smart cities allow easier access to public services, such as electricity and water supply, transportation, and healthcare services, helping local authorities improve their social and environmental management of the city. Smart lighting is among the innovative technologies.

Important role

Smart lighting pertains to intelligent lighting systems on streets, bridges, parks, and public squares. A smart lighting control system runs on software that collects data to help local authorities optimise urban management, receive timely feedback, and provide better support to citizens.

A smart lighting control system runs on software that collects data to help local authorities improve urban management

Applications in smart lighting will not only save time and effort but also optimise available resources to improve the quality of life. According to the Energy Conservation Research and Development Center, smart lighting helps cities reduce emissions and crime, improve the quality of social services, monitor the environment, and handle traffic issues better.

Moreover, with smart lighting, citizens get access to related data and services easier, update real-time public information and warnings faster, live in a safer place, access emergency services when needed, and enjoy smoother traffic.

Effective smart lighting systems must follow three principles. First, it must be set on an open platform meeting industrial standards to connect with multiple devices. Second, it can be expanded to serve infrastructure development in the long term. Finally, smart lighting should be connected to the city’s control centre to support the local government’s management of the city.

Solutions

According to Phung Hoai Duong, general director of Signify Vietnam, a smart lighting system can reduce traffic accidents by 30 per cent, crime rates by 20 per cent, and CO2 emissions by 80 per cent. These improvements should make a city a lot more environment-friendly and more livable.

Phung Hoai Duong, general director of Signify Vietnam, giving remarks at the Vietnam Urban Sustainability Summit

Realising the vital role smart lighting solutions play in the development of smart cities, Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, the world’s leader in lighting, has introduced Interact lighting solutions.

By leveraging IoT technology, the Interact system can reduce a city’s lighting-induced energy cost by 80 per cent, improve lighting performance by up to 50 per cent, and reduce the risk of a power failure by 1 per cent.

Some other functions include optimising energy efficiency, enabling smart city applications, and building an ecosystem that supports the city’s readiness to take on new technologies and applications as they become available.

Interact effectiveness has been tested and proven in thousands of cities worldwide, such as Jakarta, Indonesia. During the first phase of the project in the city, 90,000 streetlights were upgraded to energy-efficient LED lights in just seven months. These new lights were connected to remote management software.

The second phase brought the number of upgraded streetlights to 150,000, all controlled under the Interact City lighting asset management software. It is the largest smart lighting project in Southeast Asia.

With the power of Interact, Signify aims to transform more cities around the world into greener, safer, and overall happier places to live.

New energy tie-ups lean to greener business ambitions Foreign investors are increasing activities in renewable energy in Vietnam through new tie-ups, with a focus laid on self-use electricity due to the country’s global commitments to a greener future.

Going smarter remains realm of the giants In anticipation of huge opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, leading Vietnamese manufacturers are developing smart factories. However, there remains a long journey to go for Vietnam’s manufacturing industry to make it a success.