California-based Semtech is working with Indian smart lighting provider CitiLight to transform smart-city lighting using LoRaWan technology.

This is based on CitiLight’s Velociti LMS lighting management system with Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWan standard.

Street lights are fixed assets typically placed 40 to 50 metres apart from each other. Velociti LMS communicates large packets of data over a long range. Per CitiLight, more than a million street lights have been automated with the smart lighting that have saved up to 1.29 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy in more than 100 cities.

“Safety is a critical part of any city,” said Aman Chawla, CEO of CitiLight. “As we move towards smarter cities, our view of citizen safety also needs to evolve. This is where city street lighting plays an important role. The spots in the city that are dark or less brightly lit are the ones that are most vulnerable to crime and accidents, and Velociti LMS is a solution to this issue.”

He said controlling street lighting was a unique challenge that entailed work on both the hardware and network of the system. He added that Semtech’s LoRa devices and LoRaWam were ideal for smart cities as the technology could solve both hardware and network problems due to each street light requiring to be metered, while accounting for additional data such as daylight, motion and temperature.

The Velociti LMS system can keep street lights connected and monitored in real time, from anywhere on the globe, without any dependence on field personnel. Any commands given to the street lights, such as change of lighting schedule or change in intensity, are executed within seconds as the system offers less than five second command latency and 0.5 to 1% accuracy on metered data according to CitiLight. LoRaWan complements the street light system as the technology can support larger data packets based on a city’s needs and communication over a long range.

“Real-time analytics are aiding in the growth of smart cities,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president at Semtech. “Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWan standard are adding intelligence and networking to street lighting that is creating better and more sustainable smart cities. This, in turn, creates a smarter planet that also improves lives of citizens globally through the reduction in energy usage.”

CitiLight, formerly Aatapaha, has done street light automation work for over 100 Indian cities and has automated more than a million street lights in the process. It is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to major lighting brands, including Panasonic, Bajaj Electrical, Havells India and EESL.