The world’s most liveable city, Melbourne was recently named the 2017 Intelligent Community of the Year, conferred by the Intelligent Community Forum. Melbourne’s adoption of smart lighting technologies has significantly contributed to its ‘smart city’ status, with more works being undertaken to futureproof their lighting infrastructure.
Ironbark Sustainability’s Business Manager Alexi Lynch, who presented at the Australian Smart Lighting Summit last year, has observed several developments in the smart control street lighting domain. For instance, councils are more open to the adoption of technology, creating an environment that supports a balanced discussion on smart lighting controls and smart cities.
The Federal Government’s $50-million Smart Cities and Suburbs Program investment has encouraged councils to consider smart city elements, controls and networks when establishing public lighting guidelines, policies and strategies. Technology trials and pilots are also taking place, with Victoria taking the lead in setting up an Australian-first, network-wide, smart street lighting system for councils that includes thousands of smart-city enabled LEDs for Melbourne.
The City of Ryde, the fourth largest CBD in Australia, installed residential and city smart controls over two years ago. According to Anthony Ogle, the Asset Systems Manager for the City of Ryde, who is responsible for the operations of city roads, streetscapes, street lighting, stormwater and local civil infrastructure, the City of Ryde has, since 2002 seen public street lighting through public domain upgrades with Multi-Functional Poles (MFPs) by developers as well as underground metered circuits. The Council is currently converting existing MFPs to LED with smart controls.
The 5th Annual Australian Smart Lighting Summit, taking place in Melbourne this September will also feature a presentation by Dr Fred Watson, Head of Lighting and Environment at the Australian Astronomical Observatory, who continues to raise awareness of light pollution concerns associated with LED lighting.
Dr Watson along with Ironbark Sustainability’s Managing Director Paul Brown will be among a range of local and international lighting specialists who will profile major developments in the lighting sphere at the upcoming Summit.
The line-up of presenters also includes Washington DC’s Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance Executive Director Bob Parks who will provide the latest information on quality public lighting design using real-world examples, as well as Florida Power & Light’s Principal Lighting Engineer, Joe Hancock, who will reflect on the challenges in delivering North America’s largest street light control network. Florida Power & Light is undertaking one of the largest smart street lighting projects in the world, involving the installation of nearly half a million networked energy-efficient LEDs.
Technical Principal of Lighting Design from New Zealand Opus International Consultants, Andy Collins, will deliver a trans-Tasman perspective on energy efficient street lighting. Mr Collins has been instrumental in the provision of Auckland Transport’s inventory of 105,000 street lights, representing a third of all those in New Zealand.
Australia’s premiere symposium on smart lighting, smart cities and the Internet of Things, the 5th Annual Australian Smart Lighting Summit takes place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on the 13th and 14th of September 2017.
The Summit is organised by Expotrade Australia.
