Energy Saving Smart Street Lighting Set for Thurles, Drangan and Clonoulty

Public street lighting is accountable for 35% of Tipperary County Council’s energy consumption. Upgrading an old streetlight to a standard LED can reduce energy costs by up to 50%. Currently, 28% of Tipperary’s total public street lighting is LED. Going a step further and installing Smart Lighting can result in even more energy savings and reduce CO2 emissions. Tipperary County Council is piloting smart lighting systems in Thurles, Drangan and Clonoulty. A smart lighting system uses technology such as motion detectors to monitor movement and adjusts the lighting accordingly.

600 Smart LED lights are being installed across the 3 pilot sites. Tipperary County Council has been working with Tipperary Energy Agency on this smart LED lighting pilot initiative which will be one of the largest installations of smart lights of any county council in Ireland. SSE Airtricity Utility Solutions were awarded the contract following the tender process and they have commenced the installation of the Smart Lights.

Liam Brett, Tipperary County Council, Roads Senior Engineer, said “The lighting will be monitored closely after installation and if the evidence proves to be reliable then an informed decision can be made by the council to invest in further smart lighting for the remaining 17,400 streetlights in the county. This would further assist us with achieving our target CO2 reduction in Tipperary.”

“Cathaoirleach” of Tipperary County Council, Cllr. Marie Murphy said “This pilot scheme, in cooperation with our European partners, shows what can be achieved when we work together for the good of our communities. It has never been so important to reduce energy consumption as it is now in the context of climate change. Tipperary County Council can be a leader and show the way in this important endeavour.”

Siona Daly, Assistant CEO of Tipperary Energy Agency said “We expect to see annual energy savings of approximately 150,000 kWh, which is the equivalent electricity required to power nineteen homes in a year. Furthermore, if this SMART-SPACE lighting project proves to be a success in Tipperary, it could impact national policy and decision making on public lighting which could be invaluable as the National Public Lighting Retrofit Project starts to gain traction.”

This best practice is issued from our publication Sustainable Regions in Action 2022. Read it now to discover many more best practices from FEDARENE members as well as an overview of our activities.