Skip to main content

San Diego to deploy smart streetlights

The City of San Diego, California, is partnering with GE to upgrade streetlights in a bid to reduce energy costs by 60 per cent as well as transform them into a connected digital network that can optimise parking and traffic, enhance public safety and track air quality. The City will be installing 3,200 smart sensor nodes that can use real-time anonymous sensor data to direct drivers to open parking spaces, help first responders during emergencies, track carbon emissions and identify intersections that c
February 24, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The City of San Diego, California, is partnering with GE to upgrade streetlights in a bid to reduce energy costs by 60 per cent as well as transform them into a connected digital network that can optimise parking and traffic, enhance public safety and track air quality.

The City will be installing 3,200 smart sensor nodes that can use real-time anonymous sensor data to direct drivers to open parking spaces, help first responders during emergencies, track carbon emissions and identify intersections that can be improved for pedestrians and cyclists.

The anonymous information from the sensors can be used by developers to create apps and software that can benefit the community.

Additionally, the City will be replacing 14,000 streetlights with more energy efficient versions, which is expected to reduce energy costs by US$2.4 million annually. These streetlights include technology that allows for manually or automatically dimming and brightening in public venues, depending on natural light conditions.

The City expects the project to achieve an estimated 60 per cent reduction in energy. In addition to reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, the streetlights are also intended to reduce light pollution.

An adaptive control system captures real time interval data, monitoring and notifications for maintenance purposes and also provides GPS coordinates at each fixture. Over the life of each fixture the system automatically ramps up power as needed to meet specified lighting standards.

Related Content

  • A SIMPL idea from Seyond
    November 7, 2024
    Intersection management solution combines Lidar and AI for traffic signal control
  • AGD targets efficiency in lighting sector
    March 26, 2014
    AGD is demonstrating how it is applying its intelligent radar detection expertise to the lighting sector to help authorities and lighting manufacturers achieve significant cost and energy efficiency savings. It can provide dynamic street lighting control from real time traffic data, ensuring lighting levels are adjusted safely depending on traffic density. When the radars detect high volumes of traffic, streetlights are deployed on full brightness but can then be programmed to dim to established safe levels
  • Applied Information’s app gets Marietta connected
    October 26, 2017
    Must the benefits of connected vehicle technology wait for a generation of new or retrofitted vehicles? The US city of Marietta is about to find out. Can connected vehicle functionality be delivered via a smartphone? Well, in Marietta, Georgia, they are about to answer that question. The city is testing a smartphone app which warns motorists of nearby cyclists and pedestrians, approaching first responders, wrong-way driving, entering active school zones and much more.
  • Transport technology transforming bus stops in Los Angeles
    January 20, 2012
    David Crawford reports on a pioneering blend of transport technology and aesthetic By gaining a design award before installation has even started, the US$6.9 million City of Santa Monica (California)'s Big Blue Bus Shelter and Branding Package has ensured early interest among what it expects to be a new wave of transit riders. The American Institute of Architects' Los Angeles chapter's recently conferred 'Next LA Citation Award for Architecture', given for design excellence in projects as yet unbuilt, comm