A recent report published by ON World reveals that installations for outdoor wireless lighting will quadruple between 2013 and 2017 due to the migration to LEDs, improving energy tariffs and increasing participation by municipalities.
Outdoor wireless lighting for municipalities and commercial properties is one of the fastest growing market segments for smart lighting, according to global technology research firm ON World.
Outdoor smart lighting is increasingly becoming a launching pad for future Smart City applications such as public safety, traffic controls and parking management, the report said.
Large-scale rollouts of wireless streetlight monitoring are underway with the United Kingdom leading the way. Migration to LEDs, improving energy tariffs and actions by local governments to develop specifications and guidelines for more advanced lighting controls are driving these rollouts.
In addition, demand is growing for a variety of commercial outdoor wireless lighting applications such as parking garages/lots, campuses, auto dealership lots and open air marketplaces.
“Municipalities are key green initiative participants and smart lighting is often the first step toward city-wide energy and operational savings,” says Mareca Hatler, ON World’s research director. “Outdoor smart lighting is increasingly becoming a launching pad for future Smart City applications such as public safety, traffic controls and parking management.”
Smart City applications are benefiting from years of Smart Grid investment and the development of standards based wireless mesh technologies such as ZigBee, IEEE 802.15.4g and 6LoWPAN.
This trend is illustrated by new entrants such as GE, Silver Spring Networks and Paradox Engineering that provide wireless mesh outdoor lighting systems based on Smart Grid standards. Over half of current outdoor wireless lighting systems use ZigBee or 802.15.4.