The Dutch island of Texel aims to become fully energy neutral by 2020 and smart lighting is helping to get the job done. The new, intelligent, energy-neutral public lighting infrastructure allows the island to be illuminated only when and where it is really necessary, slashing energy costs in the process.

The intelligent street lighting network rolled out on Texel is one of the largest in Europe. It incorporates thousands of TVILIGHT wireless street lighting controllers (CitySense and SkyLite) that help Texel save energy and minimise light pollution. “Smart streetlights help us achieve two major goals—become energy neutral and preserve nocturnal darkness. The old streetlights made watching the night sky difficult because of the giant cloud of orange light hanging over the island. Now, we can see the stars and the Milky Way,” Kikkert explains.

Tvilight street lighting controllers run on a patented motion-sensing technology that allows the streetlights to automatically dim down or brighten up according to real-time human presence.

The combination of new LED streetlights and 'light on demand' enables Texel not only to preserve the night sky but also to save two-thirds of the energy previously spent on outdoor lighting. Now, Texel powers the streetlights using only solar energy, which makes it the first Dutch municipality where public lighting is completely energy neutral.

'Texel demonstrates what other islands across the globe can achieve with intelligent street lighting. We have helped transform Texel into a smart island where the beautiful night sky can be enjoyed by everyone,' commented Chintan Shah, CEO of Tvilight.

'The beauty of this solution is that it doesn’t compromise public safety in any way. On the contrary, the possibility to increase the brightness of streetlights based on real-time human presence or specific time and location requirements helps to keep the streets safe while minimising the light pollution. On top of that, the energy savings deliver an attractive return on investment,' Haye Mensonides, commercial director of Dynniq concluded.

Dynniq, who has managed the roll-out of the new outdoor lighting infrastructure on Texel, provided the municipality with an advanced asset management software that enabled it to gain complete control over its street lighting infrastructure. Using the software, Texel can remotely set up lighting scenarios, change the brightness levels of streetlights, switch the streetlights on and off, and more.

The Tvilight Open Application Programming Interface allows for a seamless integration of multiple smart city applications and third-party software such as traffic lights, VMS signs, sensors, and CCTV cameras. Being future-proof, the new connected lighting system on Texel is an excellent first step to a Smart City.

'With the roll-out of the intelligent street lighting network, Dynniq has implemented the data infrastructure as well. In the coming years, there will be numerous possibilities to use this infrastructure on Texel in innovative ways. The infrastructure can be used, for instance, to measure the CO2‚ output or help public safety by connecting it to the police CCTV,'  Mensonides concluded.

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