The Green Geek

Smart street lights with cell phone technology

The Indian city of Cantt is using GSM cell phone technology to control street lights remotely. The system will communicate via the GSM network to a central computer to determine when the lights should be illuminated, how bright they should be lit based on ambient light levels, and to also dim the lights after dark when the areas have less traffic. This system is expected to save an estimated 45% on the city’s energy costs for public space lighting.

If this technolgy was applied to all public lighting worldwide, energy savings would be incredible, as well as resulting in far less light pollution. Public lights could also be fitted with solar panels, making the system self powering and thus even more efficient.

In Cantt, computer-controlled street lighting, via Hugg