Themes

The main question of Smart Light Concept's practical research is: how can local governments reduce their carbon ootprint in a financially responsible manner by investing in energy-saving smart public lighting. Behind this question lie several research questions: What is the right technology for smart street lighting? What will it cost and can the municipality recoup the investment? What does smart lighting mean for social and road safety? What do citizens and road users think of it? These questions are addressed in the various research themes.

Finance

A crucial element in implementing low-carbon public lighting (PL) technologies is the availability of financial means to invest in sustainable PL-technologies and systems and to calculate the maintenance costs during the runtime of the investment. In close co-operation between the financial researchers and all other pilot partners different methods of funding and investment are being examined, described and discussed.

Technology

The aim of the SLIC project is to calculate the added value of technologies that lead to low-carbon public lighting in the built environment. The research theme Technology focuses on monitoring and evaluating the technical side of the design of the 7 pilots. In addition, the researchers at Avans offer support to their colleagues at the University of Portsmouth to set up the Decision Support Tool (DST) for sustainable street lighting as optimally as possible.

Stakeholders

Stakeholder engagement is one of the research themes within the SLIC project. The main question is: which stakeholders should be involved in experiments with smart public lighting, and in what way?

Safety

The built environment can no longer be imagined without public lighting. Public lighting contributes to social and road safety. Good lighting ensures that people can oversee the traffic situation and / or that pedestrians or cyclists feel safe enough to be on the street in dark conditions. Scientists disagree whether lighting in itself can contribute to improving social safety. More research is needed how the design of public lighting can help people to feel safer or have a better traffic overview.