Tipperary to upgrade lighting as part of a €5.7m project

Thurles, Drangan and Clonoulty, in Tipperary, Ireland, have been chosen as pilots for the European smart lighting project, SMART-SPACE, along with locations in the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

It’s hoped that these lights will make a big difference in energy efficiency Just over half a million Euros (approximately £427,000) will be spent on smart lights in Tipperary, with the aim of increasing energy efficiency and saving money in the long run.

Senior Engineer for Roads and Transportation, Liam Brett, says that the lights are expensive, but will bring big savings.

“They are a significant spend, absolutely, but there are significant savings. We know that by installing these lights that we’ll save about 60% of the energy usage.

“Hopefully with the platform and by learning how to use this new technology and partnering with these other municipalities across Europe, we’ll learn how to drive further efficiency from that 60%.

“We know we will save significant money on energy every year, probably in the order of about €40,000 (£34,000) a year with these lights, so there are significant savings in the public purse.”

The lights will also help Tipperary County Council towards achieving its climate target.

Public lighting in Tipperary represents 38% of the council’s entire energy usage, so it’s hoped that these lights will make a big difference in energy efficiency.

The SMART-SPACE project is costing €5.7m (£5.9m), with €3.4m (£2.9m) funded through the European Regional Development Fund, while Tipperary’s spend represents about half a million and 60% of this is funded by the European funding.

Tipperary County Council has been working with Tipperary Energy Agency and its EU project partners on this smart LED lighting pilot initiative, which will be one of the largest installations of smart lights of any county council in Ireland. 40% of the associated costs are being funded by Tipperary County Council, with the remaining 60% being funded by Interreg North West Europe (EU).

SSE Airtricity Utility Solutions was awarded the contract following the tender process and the company has begun the installation of the smart lights.

Michael Tierney, Tipperary County Council, Executive Engineer, says, “These smart street lights give Tipperary County Council better control over how we manage our street lights. Initially, in some areas, we will pilot interactive lighting where we will have the technology to dim down lighting where there is no public movement detected and light up an area once the system detects pedestrians or cars approaching. In areas like car parks where there is no movement from midnight to 7am, energy use could potentially be reduced by 80%.

“These lights can notify the Council of a fault and give more accurate information on power usage. In other areas such as Liberty Square, Thurles, we plan to pilot a different type of smart light where the light colours can even be changed through an app for special events like St. Patrick’s Day.”

Siona Daly, Acting CEO of Tipperary Energy Agency says, “We expect to see annual energy savings of approximately 150,000kWh, which is the equivalent electricity required to power 19 homes in a year.

“Furthermore, if this SMART-SPACE lighting project proves to be a success in Tipperary, it could impact national policy and decision making on public lighting which could be invaluable as the National Public Lighting Retrofit Project starts to gain traction.”

SMART-SPACE – Smart Sustainable Public Spaces across the NWE region – is a European project aiming to facilitate the uptake of smart lighting in small and mid-size municipalities.

The three-year project aims to facilitate the uptake of smart public lighting with high energy saving potential to make the move towards energy-efficient, sustainable and demand-oriented municipalities across North-West Europe.

SMART-SPACE will demonstrate the impact of smart lighting on public street light energy consumption and CO2 reductions and on public space liveability, safety and sustainability, and will develop a transition roadmap to ensure large-scale roll-out.

The project will be one of the largest installations of smart lighting for any county council in Ireland

SMART-SPACE, nweurope.eu

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