Extreme weather events, frequent heat waves, drought: the climate crisis burdens city managers with uncertainty and instability. Local governments are working hard to adapt quickly and transform their territories to strengthen their resilience.
In Switzerland, the ‘Energy City’ Association has been pushing its members to take climate change seriously and in 2021 added the implementation of adaptation measures among the evaluation criteria of sustainable urban policies. The Association was established in 1991 and endorses one of the most successful energy programs in Switzerland: over 460 Swiss municipalities representing about 60% of the country population are currently labeled ‘Energy City’ for their commitment for energy efficiency, climate action, sustainable transportation systems, and environmental responsibility.
In Ticino canton, Bellinzona, Chiasso, and Massagno are all certified ‘Energy Cities’, and stand up for the smart use of technology to achieve ambitious green targets. All the three cities identified streetlighting as the first public application to be redesigned in order to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
In Bellinzona, in 2013 the public utility AMB started to replace mercury vapor lamps with LED-based devices, and currently manages more than 2,600 smart streetlights using our Smart CMS as remote monitoring and control platform.
Chiasso followed a similar path. Local utility AGE implemented an interoperable wireless network to manage streetlights and allow the integration of additional devices and applications over time. About 2,100 smart streetlights are today connected to our Smart CMS, and 100 Smart Parking sensors in a popular facility in the town center.
Massagno kicked-off its smart journey in 2017, when local utility AEM developed an intelligent grid to connect smart meters, monitor energy-consuming devices, and enable remote control. Our Smart CMS currently connects about 2,000 Smart Lighting nodes, including about 60 smart luminaires along the Tesserete‐Canobbio bike trail. Every lamp is interfaced with a motion sensor, so lights are automatically switched on and dimmed at 100% only when cyclists or pedestrians pass by.
Their successful experiences prove the benefits of Smart Lighting to accelerate on energy efficiency and contribute to climate change adaptation.
Want to learn more about our solutions and cities that leveraged them? Read the most recent customer stories and don’t hesitate to contact us for further information!
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