intelligent lighting for smart and livable cities - Philips Lighting

020 inDUstRY intRODUCtiOn inDUstRY intRODUCtiOn 021
IntellIgent lIghtIng
for smart and
lIvable cItIes
erIc rondolat, CEO, PhiliPs lighting
a
century ago, less than 10 per cent of the
world’s population lived in cities. By the
start of the 21st century this figure had
risen to over 50 per cent, and by 2050
over two thirds of us will be living in cities. Faced with
this rapid urbanisation, municipal authorities
recognise the need to create safe, smart, vibrant and
environmentally sound city environments. Intelligent,
energy-efficient lighting can help them achieve this
ambition. But there is no time to lose.
urbanIsatIon – opportunIty
and challenge
Many of the new city dwellers can be found in
emerging economies like China, India and Africa,
where conurbations of over 10 million inhabitants
are becoming increasingly prevalent. At the same
time, cities in developed regions like Europe and
North America are having to adapt, as the postindustrial
age and accompanying shift toward a
service economy change the very nature of city
life. Furthermore, advances in human development
and public health have resulted in a global
population that is living longer.
Urban growth and transformation on this scale
offers tremendous opportunities for economic and
social development, but also presents huge
challenges, especially in these times of financial
and resource constraints. Quality of life (citizens’
health and well-being), the promotion of commerce
and tourism, and historic preservation are all high
on municipal agendas. At the same time, towns
and cities are keen to reduce their ecological
impact: urban environments contribute heavily to
the demand for, and cost of, energy, while also
affecting the balance of nature through (light)
pollution and waste.
“ today, cItIes
consume over 70
per cent of the
world’s energy
supply, a fIgure
that wIll only
Increase over
tIme
”
Pictured above: User
interface of CityTouch
online outdoor lighting
management system
Main: Dynamic LED
lighting of the Grand
Canal, Hangzhou, China
IntellIgent lIghtIng
As a leading innovator in the field of health and wellbeing,
with a mission to improve the quality of life
through meaningful innovations and the vision to
strive for a healthier and more sustainable world,
Philips is committed to providing intelligent peoplefocused
solutions that help build truly livable cities.
As lighting goes digital, we are incorporating our
innovative LED light sources, luminaires, smart
lighting controls and software in fully integrated,
intelligent solutions for cities. Intelligent lighting
provides the right amount of light precisely where it is
needed and when it is needed. This enables municipal
authorities to save energy and maintenance costs and
to reduce obtrusive light, while making urban spaces
safer and more attractive, thus strengthening city
branding. Instead of continuously replacing lamps and
components, product delivery will increasingly be
directed towards software and controllability, thereby
adding new value through improved lighting services.
energy effIcIency
Today, cities consume over 70 per cent of the world’s
energy supply, a figure that will only increase over time.
Going forward, how will these cities manage to meet
the growing demand for energy while keeping costs
under control?
Lighting accounts for 19 per cent of the world’s
electricity consumption, with some 60 per cent of
this used by commercial and public buildings in
cities, and around 15 per cent by street lighting.
Significant savings are possible – on average 40 per
cent – simply by switching to energy-efficient
lighting technologies such as LED. On a global level
the potential savings amount to €128 billion in
reduced electricity cost and 670 million tonnes
of CO 2 , or the equivalent of 642 power plants.
Philips is driving the lighting industry’s transition
toward energy-efficient lighting, and we aim
to improve the energy efficiency of all the products
we bring to market by 50 per cent in the period
2010-2015.
InnovatIng future-proof
solutIons
Together with a range of strategic partners from both
the public and private sector, we are constantly working
on innovative, integrated lighting solutions to help
build intelligently connected cities. Our CityTouch
online outdoor lighting management system is a case
in point.
With steeply rising urban populations, it is clear
that static, passive streetlights simply cannot keep
pace with the lives we lead. Livable cities require
lighting that can adjust to the ebb and flow of traffic
and urban activity. CityTouch enables dynamic,
intelligent and flexible control of lighting city-wide.
Combined with LED-based fixtures, it can save up
to 70 per cent on energy and maintenance costs
compared to conventional lighting.
CityTouch allows users to manage all the lighting
systems for an entire city from a single, intuitive
online user interface. It provides easy, streamlined
maintenance and oversight, with real-time status
reports for each individual light point. Moreover, by
making it possible to dim light points outside of
peak hours, detect failures and provide smart
lighting workflow support, the system significantly
reduces operating costs and energy usage – leading
to lower energy bills, lower carbon emissions and
less light pollution.
CityTouch also protects the city’s infrastructure
investment by adjusting seamlessly to new
technologies and evolving needs. As they expand,
cities using CityTouch can simply add new streets to
the existing network. New lighting functionalities
can also be easily incorporated. Also, CityTouch is
the first control platform that is not bound to one
hardware type or provider. This means that users
have flexibility in choosing the products that best
suit their city’s requirements and budget – secure in
the knowledge that their light points will work
seamlessly with the CityTouch system.

InspIrIng envIronments
In addition to their capacity to slash energy bills and
avoid greenhouse gas emissions, our integrated LEDbased
lighting solutions offer exceptional freedom in
terms of controlled lighting effect (colour, dynamics)
and design. This capability is driving a shift
from “quantitative” functional lighting towards
“qualitative” intelligent and emotive lighting that
transforms urban environments, offering city
residents and visitors safety and spectacle, uplifting
and inspiring experiences.
whIte lIght for safer streets
To hold on to both their private and corporate
citizens, cities must provide safer streets for both
motorists and pedestrians. Lighting can make a
decisive contribution in this regard. For example, at
the same light level, more than 80 per cent of
people feel safer with bright white light than with
traditional street-lighting solutions. The closest
approximation to actual sunlight, white light is
considered to be more authentic and comfortable:
its high levels of perceived brightness and superior
Pictured above: Dynamic
LED lighting of Miami
Tower, USA
Far right: Eric Rondolat,
CEO of Philips Lighting
“ there are
Indeed many
sIgnIfIcant
challenges
to be overcome,
yet the prospect
of safe, vIbrant,
eco-frIendly
cItIes Is no
IllusIon
”
Photo by New York Focus
colour rendering help people feel safer and make it
easier to distinguish objects, colors, shapes and
other details.
At Rio+20 a report entitled Lighting the Clean
Revolution: The rise of LEDs and what it means for
cities (www.TheCleanRevolution.org/lighting-theclean-revolution)
was published, outlining the
findings of LightSavers – an independent global
pilot of LED lamps across 12 of the world’s largest
cities. These findings included the fact that a large
majority of residents of pilot cities reported
improved visibility and felt safer with LED-based
white light.
effectIve Image buIldIng
Quite simply, high-quality intelligent lighting helps
make a city safer and more attractive, enhancing its
brand identity – the distinctive signature that
defines its appeal and differentiates it from other
cities. This is important not only for civic pride, but
also to attract new residents, new businesses and
inward investment that boost retailing, tourism and
other boosts to economic growth and employment.
need to act... and act fast!
The intelligently connected, energy-efficient lighting
solutions we need for a sustainable future are here
today – the one thing we cannot afford is to delay
their implementation. The current rate of renovation
of existing infrastructure based on outdated,
inefficient technology is simply too slow. We urge
governments worldwide to act – by creating policy
frameworks (governing, for instance, public
procurement, Total Cost of Ownership, and fiscal
incentives) that stimulate clean, smart innovation,
and adopting more ambitious energy and resource
efficiency performance standards. At the same
time, they can lead by example by making their own
public buildings, schools and streets smart and
energy-efficient.
Such top-down change must be complemented by a
bottom-up, sectoral approach, in which the business
community and public stakeholders join forces in
new public-private partnerships to accelerate the
market penetration of innovative new technologies,
products and services. Here too, our lighting
industry provides a good example. Inspired by
Philips’ leadership, the industry is working together
to drive the global switch to energy-efficient lighting.
In addition, the en.lighten public/private partnership
between UNEP, the Global Environmental Facility,
Philips, Osram and NLTC to promote the adoption
of efficient lighting in developing and emerging
countries, has created a virtual global sectoral
market transition. This sectoral lighting industry
inDUstRY intRODUCtiOn 023
approach also constitutes a welcome bottom-up
contribution to the UNFCCC’s ambitions to make
progress on tackling Climate Change at COP18 in
Qatar.
From a sustainability viewpoint we could also
benefit greatly by moving financing mechanisms
from ‘lowest price tag’ to ‘life-cycle value’. This
involves advancing new business models that
balance operating expense and capital expenditure.
For example, CityTouch’s “fee per light point per
month” approach eliminates the need for upfront
investment. The savings in energy and maintenance
costs that are enabled by CityTouch can lead to
best-in-class payback times of the investments in
new energy-efficient lighting.
lookIng forward
There are indeed many significant challenges to be
overcome, yet the prospect of safe, vibrant, ecofriendly
cities is no illusion. We can achieve this.
With a forward-looking agenda and a commitment
to partnering with other change agents in both the
private and public sectors, we at Philips are resolved
to play our part – by continuing to deliver the
intelligent lighting solutions that will help create the
sustainable livable cities of the future n
about the author
Eric Rondolat has been the CEO of Philips Lighting
since April 2012. He began his career with Merlin
Gerin in 1990, and from there he started a longterm
international career within Schneider Electric
in both mature as well as fast-developing emerging
markets. Mr Rondolat holds an Engineering degree
and a Master’s degree in International Marketing.