WHITEPAPER

Making Outdoor Lighting More

Efficient, Safe, and Affordable
With Open-Standard Control
Networking Technology
OUTDOOR
STREET
LIGHTING
Overview
Modern commercial outdoor lighting sys-
tems are being asked to do more than
ever before. In addition to fullling their
primary purpose of casting light onto dark
roadways, parking areas, and public spac-
es, outdoor lighting systems are increas-
ingly evaluated for how well they reduce
energy consumption, improve safety for
both pedestrians and drivers, and serve as
the foundation for a range of Internet of
Things (IoT) applications.
CuLdoor llghLlng ls an lmporLanL parL of Lhe sLraLeglc asseL base for clLles, munlclpallLles,
and large enLerprlses. 8uL lL's a sLraLeglc asseL LhaL cosLs money, especlally ln lLs energy
usage. CpLlmlzlng llghLlng asseLs depends noL only on declslons regardlng Lhe lumlnalres
and flxLures Lhemselves, buL also abouL Lhe Lechnologles used Lo monlLor and conLrol
large-scale llghLlng neLworks.

Lchelon Corp., Lhe world's leadlng conLrol neLworklng plaLform provlder, offers a
sophlsLlcaLed, comprehenslve, open sLandards-based approach Lo ouLdoor llghLlng
conLrol LhaL makes lL easy and affordable for llghLlng owners Lo lncrease Lhe efflclency,
safeLy, and versaLlllLy of Lhelr munlclpal and commerclal llghLlng sysLems.

Cutdoor L|ght|ng 1oday
Accordlng Lo a 2014 reporL by markeL researchers aL norLheasL Croup, more Lhan 280
mllllon sLreeLllghLs are currenLly ln place globally, wlLh Lhls number expecLed Lo grow Lo
nearly 340 mllllon by 2023.

1he cumulaLlve cosLs of Lhese sLreeLllghLs ls sLaggerlng. Lach sLreeLllghL uses 600 Lo
1,000 kWh/yr of energy, whlch LranslaLes Lo $70 Lo $123 ln annual elecLrlclLy cosLs
(assumlng an average worldwlde energy cosL of $0.12/kWh). ln addlLlon, each
sLreeLllghL ls responslble for generaLlng 330 Lo 1,300 kg of CC
2
each year, conLrlbuLlng Lo
global cllmaLe change.

SLreeLllghLs also cause problems when Lhey are noL worklng properly. AL any glven Llme,
an esLlmaLed 3 Lo 8 of sLreeLllghLs are 'dayllghL burners'-meanlng Lhey are on
durlng dayllghL hours-whlch burns energy unnecessarlly unLll Lhey are repalred. WhaL's
more, any sLreeLllghL lamp LhaL falls Lakes an average of 43 days Lo geL flxed, whlch
leads Lo cusLomer dlssaLlsfacLlon as well as a safeLy rlsk for as long as Lhe lamp ls ouL.

Addlng conLrols Lo llghLlng sysLems-ofLen ln con[uncLlon wlLh converslons Lo energy-
efflclenL LLu llghLlng, buL also wlLhouL LLu converslon-ls an emerglng besL pracLlce.
8easons LhaL greaLer conLrol ls becomlng a besL pracLlce lnclude:
! Lnergy sav|ngs Lhrough adapLlve llghLlng and oLher llghLlng conLrols
! Cperat|ona| sav|ngs and better customer sat|sfact|on Lhrough more efflclenL
malnLenance and beLLer schedullng, based on usage and fallure analysls and
Llmely access Lo daLa
! New bus|ness mode|s Lhrough LranslLlons from bulldlng-based Lo usage-based
bllllng, whlch can be a beneflL ln some use cases
! Add|t|ona| smart c|ty app||cat|ons based on Lhe smarL llghLlng plaLform

ln addlLlon Lo Lhese broadly appllcable raLlonales for addlng conLrol neLworklng Lo
ouLdoor llghLlng sysLems, oLher geographlc- or slLuaLlon-speclflc beneflLs can lnclude:
! eak energy management, such as happens ln Lhe LasL coasL u.S. around 7 pm
ln summer, when bulldlngs are sLlll uslng alr condlLlonlng aL Lhe same Llme LhaL
sLreeLllghLs begln Lo Lurn on
! Improved pub||c safety, based on research showlng LhaL 30 of auLomoblle
accldenLs happen wlLhln a Lhree-hour Llme perlod aL dusk
! Lnergy opt|m|zat|on, whlch allows clLles Lo add more llghLs for Lhe same amounL
of energy usage

1he emphasls and value of Lhese beneflLs varles by geography, counLry, and oLher
slLuaLlons, buL overall Lhese are Lhe reasons LhaL commerclal and munlclpal llghLlng
owners are movlng Loward lmproved conLrol neLworks.

Sav|ng Lnergy 1hrough Adapt|ve L|ght|ng
MosL clLles allocaLe and spend beLween 33 and 40 of Lhelr LoLal energy budgeL on
sLreeL llghLlng. Converslons Lo more energy-efflclenL llghLlng sources, such as LLus, can
cuL energy expendlLures by 30 Lo 30. Addlng smarL conLrols ylelds an addlLlonal 13
Lo 30 of energy savlngs, over and above Lhe conLrlbuLlons of Lhe lumlnalres
Lhemselves.

ln developed reglons of Lhe world, clLles usually reapply Lhe saved energy cosLs Lo oLher
parLs of Lhe clLy budgeL. ln developlng areas, clLles lacklng Lhe energy resources Lo
power all Lhe sLreeLllghLs Lhey need are more llkely Lo vlew a waLL saved as a waLL made.
uslng less energy Lo power a glven number of sLreeLllghLs frees up energy Lo deploy
more llghLs or Lo power oLher producLlve asseLs.

Cne lmporLanL way LhaL conLrol neLworks lmprove energy efflclency ls by enabllng
adapLlve llghLlng. As lLs name lmplles, adapLlve llghLlng ls Lhe alLeraLlon of Lhe ouLpuL or
duraLlon of llghLlng ln response Lo demand, real-world llghLlng condlLlons, or oLher
parameLers.

AdapLlve llghLlng savlngs resulL from:
! Constant |umen output (CLC). 1o allow for deLerloraLlon over Llme, mosL llghLlng
flxLures are overraLed lnlLlally by 20 Lo 23. CLC makes auLomaLlc ad[usLmenLs
Lo a lamp Lo lower Lhe lumens when a lamp ls young, whlch Lyplcally resulLs ln
10 less energy savlngs over Lhe llfe of a flxLure as well as 20 longer lamp llfe.
! Lumens on the road (LCk). LlghL bulbs come ln dlscreeL waLLages. 8arely,
however, do Lhe condlLlons of a parLlcular road demand preclsely 130W or 230W
per flxLure. 8oundlng down rlsks underllghLlng Lhe road, roundlng up Lo Lhe
nearesL waLLage means over-llghLlng and over-paylng for energy usage. uslng
LC8 Lo selecLlvely lower waLLage can save 10 ln overall energy cosLs for Lhe
sLreeLllghLlng sysLem.
! 8etter schedu||ng. CuLdoor llghLlng owners can see an addlLlonal 3 ln energy
savlngs by uslng an asLronomlcal clock Lo swlLch llghLs on and off, overrldlng
schedules wlLh a phoLoelecLrlc (L) cell LhaL ad[usLs lumens based on acLual
amblenL llghL avallable, and moderaLlng and reporLlng lf L cells show
aberraLlons durlng dayllghL.
! rogrammed and dynam|c d|mm|ng. ulmmlng llghLs durlng non-peak hours can
lead Lo 20 energy savlngs, dynamlc dlmmlng-also called 'follow-me' llghLlng-
can save 13 more.

1aken all LogeLher, adapLlve llghLlng meLhodologles conLrlbuLe abouL half of Lhe energy
savlngs aLLrlbuLed Lo Lhe addlLlon of conLrol neLworks.

Cperat|ona| Sav|ngs 1hrough 8etter Ma|ntenance
SLreeLllghLs LhaL are burned ouL or broken are more Lhan a nulsance, Lhey can creaLe a
safeLy rlsk. 1radlLlonally, malnLenance crews learned of non-worklng lumlnalres Lhrough
cusLomer complalnLs or by drlvlng around and looklng for lamps LhaL were ouL.

ConLrol neLworks for sLreeLllghL sysLems can provlde malnLenance crews wlLh lnsLanL,
up-Lo-Lhe-mlnuLe sLaLus of all Lhe lumlnalres ln Lhe neLwork and can even anLlclpaLe
llghL fallures before Lhey happen.

AuLomaLlc ldenLlflcaLlon and noLlflcaLlon of falled llghLlng leads Lo:
! lncreased safeLy, because non-worklng lamps can be replaced qulckly
! LllmlnaLlon of crews drlvlng around looklng for burned-ouL lamps, whlch helps
reduce carbon dloxlde emlsslons and Lhe general polluLlon levels of clLles
! lasL ldenLlflcaLlon of any unexpecLed slLuaLlon on Lhe sLreeLllghL grld, lncludlng
segmenL fallure, cable LhefL, or power LhefL
! 8educed malnLenance cosLs

Lnab||ng New 8us|ness Mode|s and New Smart C|ty App||cat|ons
A robusL conLrol neLworklng plaLform can help clLles shlfL Lo more advanLageous
buslness models and serve as Lhe foundaLlon for new smarL clLy appllcaLlons.

LlghLlng conLrols enable clLles Lo measure energy usage on a per-lamp basls. ClLles LhaL
have a per-pole bllllng model can opL Lo swlLch Lo a usage-based model, whlch could
help lncrease revenues (lf usage ls hlgher Lhan Lhe per-pole raLe) or enable peak-level
bllllng Lo beLLer manage overall energy usage.

ConLrol neLworks for ouLdoor llghLlng sysLems-whlch are 24/7 power and
communlcaLlons grlds-can LheoreLlcally also be used Lo conLrol oLher smarL clLy
appllcaLlons. lor example:
! ueploylng sensors on Lhe sLreeLllghLs could allow Lhe monlLorlng of alr or nolse
polluLlon, weaLher, selsmlc acLlvlLy, and oLher condlLlons ln Lhe vlclnlLy of Lhe
sLreeLllghLs.
! Cameras powered by Lhe sLreeLllghL clrculL could be used for publlc safeLy and
oLher vldeo-based appllcaLlons.
! SLreeLllghLlng conLrol neLworks could conLrol adverLlslng panels, parklng spoL
avallablllLy noLlflcaLlon, Lv charglng, and oLher new clLy servlces.

1yp|ca| Cutdoor L|ght|ng So|ut|on Arch|tecture
1he dlagram below shows a Lyplcal Lhree-Ller llghLlng soluLlon archlLecLure:



Cn Lhe boLLom layer, a number of sLreeLllghLs are connecLed Lo a feeder plllar LhaL ls
equlpped wlLh a segmenL conLroller. SegmenL conLrollers should have feaLures such as a
bullL-ln asLronomlcal clock and scheduler, whlch can be used Lo swlLch Lhe enLlre
segmenL on and off based on flxed or sunrlse/sunseL Llmlngs for LhaL parLlcular locaLlon.
AddlLlonally, Lhe segmenL conLroller should Lalk Lo Lhe energy meLer aL Lhe feeder plllar,
collecLlng daLa for Lhe enLlre segmenL Lo be used for bllllng and analyLlcs.

Lach lumlnalre (lamp posL) wlll be powered by elLher a wlred (Lyplcally, power llne
communlcaLlons, or LC) or wlreless (usually radlo frequency, or 8l) llghLlng conLroller.
1he llghLlng conLrollers for each lumlnalre communlcaLe wlLh Lhe segmenL conLroller Lo
amass daLa abouL energy consumpLlon, lamp sLaLus, and oLher condlLlon, and Lo send
dlmmlng, on/off, and oLher conLrol commands.

ln Lhe mlddle Ller lles Lhe cenLral server for Lhe llghLlng sysLem, wlLh lLs secure sofLware,
locaLed ln a clLy's daLa cenLer. SegmenL conLrollers communlcaLe remoLely wlLh Lhe
cenLral server vla hard-wlred 1C/l, 3C modem, or C8S connecLlons.

AL Lhe Lop level of Lhe archlLecLure, end users-l.e., llghLlng managers or malnLenance
sLaff-monlLor and conLrol Lhe llghLlng sysLem vla porLal accessed uslng a secure web
browser.

1o ketrof|t or Not to ketrof|t?
CuLdoor llghLlng owners can elLher reLroflL exlsLlng lamps and add conLrol Lechnologles
Lo Lhe exlsLlng neLwork, or replace exlsLlng lamps wlLh LLu or lnducLlon lamps plus a
new conLrol neLwork. Lach approach has lLs pros and cons.

!""#$%&' )* !++,-. &$-/#$01 /$ 23,1/,-. 4%.-2/,& 5%00%1/1
8eneflLs of Lhls approach lnclude:
! AblllLy Lo ldenLlfy lndlvldual lamp fallures
! up Lo 20 energy savlngs
! no more nlghL paLrols Lo check for burned-ouL or damaged llghLs
! CompaLlblllLy wlLh fuLure deploymenLs
! lull remoLe conLrol of Lhe neLwork

Weaknesses of Lhls approach lnclude:
! Cnly 30 Lo 30 dlmmlng capaclLy
! Loss of power ln aglng magneLlc ballasLs
! urop ln power facLor over Llme

!""#$%&' 6* !++,-. &$-/#$01 /$ 23,1/,-. 202&/#$-,& 5%00%1/1
8eneflLs of Lhls approach lnclude:
! AblllLy Lo ldenLlfy lndlvldual lamp fallures plus alarms
! Longer lamp llfeLlme
! up Lo 30 energy savlngs
! no more nlghL paLrols Lo check for burned-ouL or damaged llghLs
! CompaLlblllLy wlLh fuLure deploymenLs
! lull remoLe conLrol of Lhe neLwork

Weaknesses of Lhls approach lnclude:
! CannoL dlm more Lhan 30
! LlmlLed avallablllLy
! PS and MPl are noL as efflclenL as lnducLlon and LLu

!""#$%&' 7* 82"0%&,-. 23,1/,-. 094,-%,#21 :,/' ;<= %-+ ,-+9&/,$- 094,-%,#21
8eneflLs of Lhls approach lnclude:
! noLlflcaLlon of all alarms
! no lamp changes for 10 Lo 13 years
! up Lo 70 energy savlngs
! no more nlghL paLrols Lo check for burned-ouL or damaged llghLs
! lull remoLe conLrol of Lhe neLwork

Weaknesses of Lhls approach lnclude:
! More expenslve lnlLlally, buL cosLs reduce rapldly over Llme
! Some hlghway appllcablllLy quesLlons

Cpen Standards: A Cr|t|ca| Success Iactor
WlLh all Lhe new ouLdoor llghLlng conLrol soluLlons avallable, lL ls dlfflculL Lo know Lhe
besL one Lo choose. WhaLever approach a clLy or munlclpallLy Lakes, lL's lmporLanL noL
Lo geL locked lnLo a proprleLary soluLlon LhaL wlll llmlL cholce, flexlblllLy, and fuLure
opLlons.

Cpen sLandards puL llghLlng owners ln conLrol of Lhelr own desLlnles. lor ouLdoor
llghLlng conLrol, Lhe lSC 14908 communlcaLlons sLandard ls key. lL supporLs wlred and
wlreless communlcaLlons, lL allows for mulLlvendor soluLlons, and lL enables Lhe creaLlon
of hybrld neLworks.

Pybrld wlred/wlreless neLworks are lmporLanL for clLles LhaL have a mlx of llghLlng
needs. lor lnsLance, lL's lmpracLlcal Lo esLabllsh 8l connecLlons for remoLe sLreLches of
hlghway. lor oLher llghLlng segmenLs, lL mlghL be cosL-prohlblLlve Lo use wlred LC. 1o
achleve 100 coverage, clLles need Lo be able Lo mlx and maLch Lhelr communlcaLlons
medla, and lSC 14908 enables Lhls klnd of hybrld neLwork.

AL Lhe conLroller level, LonMark lnLernaLlonal ls drlvlng adopLlon of Lhe lSC 14908
sLandard for lnLeroperablllLy. Cpen-sLandard lamp conLrollers supporL varlous ouLdoor
lumlnalre conLroller proflles-e.g., CuLdoor Lumlnalre ConLroller and SmarL Lumlnalre
ConLroller-and dlfferenL Lypes of llghLs.

More Lhan 600 clLles worldwlde-lncludlng arls, Cslo, 8el[lng, and Panol-have
speclfled lSC 14908 for llghLlng conLrols, seelng lL as a good lnvesLmenL for greaLer
energy and operaLlng savlngs, fuLure-prooflng, and mulLlvendor cholce.

AnoLher emerglng sLandard ls 1ALC, for enabllng one cenLral managemenL sysLem
across mulLlple ouLdoor llghLlng neLworks. AlLhough lL ls sLlll ln developmenL, 1ALC
promlses Lo provlde lmporLanL gaLeway sLandards, lncludlng communlcaLlons vla l1
sLandards, common daLabase and daLa seLs, and a slngle user lnLerface supporLlng
mulLlple gaLeway vendors.

Lche|on's Cutdoor L|ght|ng Contro| Cffer|ngs
Lchelon offers a comprehenslve range of sLandards-based ouLdoor llghLlng conLrol
hardware and sofLware producLs LhaL flL easlly lnLo Lhe lSC 14908 ecosysLem.

Lchelon producLs lnclude:
! Segment Contro||er: 1he Lchelon SmarLServer 2.0 ConLroller wlLh LC and 8l
border rouLlng manages up Lo 230 devlces and lncludes an asLronomlcal clock,
81C and scheduler for flxed on/off and dlmmlng, C8S, 3C, WlMax, and wlred
1C/l connecLlvlLy, SM1 for sendlng emalls, sLandalone mode for auLomaLlc
repeaLlng, and dlglLal lnpuLs.
! kI-LC Street L|ght 8r|dge: 1he Lchelon C8u 3000 comblnes mulLlple power llne
segmenLs lnLo a slngle segmenL, Lo mlnlmlze Lhe number of segmenL conLrollers
requlred, lncrease communlcaLlons rellablllLy, slmpllfy lnsLallaLlon, and maxlmlze
boLh lnsLallaLlon flexlblllLy and 8Cl. 1he C8u 3000 ls ldeally sulLed Lo use cases
where Lhe denslLy of llghLs per Lransformer ls low.
! L|ght o|nt Contro||ers: 1he Lchelon Cu 3000 ls a LonMark- and lSC 14908-
compllanL L (wlred) llghL polnL conLroller. lL lncludes Lhe LonMark SmarL
lumlnalre conLroller proflle, works across an lnpuL volLage range of 80 vAC Lo
303 vAC, and dlms uslng 0-10v or WM, has a swlLched lnLernal relay for Lurnlng
llghLs on and off, and operaLes wlLhln wlde LemperaLure and humldlLy ranges.

1he Lchelon Cu 4000 ls a LonMark- and lSC 14908-compllanL 8l (wlreless) llghL
polnL conLroller. lL lncludes Lhe LonMark SmarL lumlnalre conLroller proflle,
works across an lnpuL volLage range of 100 vAC Lo 303 vAC, meLers wlLh 2
accuracy, has an lnLegraLed phoLocell, dlms uslng uALl and 0-10v, meeLs Lhe
AnSl 136.41 speclflcaLlon, conLrols a llghL of up Lo 1000 waLLs, has a swlLched
lnLernal relay for Lurnlng llghLs on and off, and supporLs 6 LoWAn, lv6 sLack,
and 8L meshlng.
! Centra| Management Software (CMS): Avallable from Lchelon ln Lhe u.S. and
from sofLware parLners elsewhere ln Lhe world, CMS sofLware lncludes:
! CMS-enab|ed c||ent software runnlng on SmarLServer hardware ls
avallable ln four models: low- and hlgh-capaclLy wlLh lnLernal coupllng,
and low- and hlgh-capaclLy wlLh exLernal coupllng.
! CMS-enab|ed server software ls offered elLher as a premlse-based
llcense aL flve levels or as a cloud/SasS model.
! ke|ated serv|ces lnclude monlLorlng, lnsLallaLlon supporL, and yearly
upgrades.

8ecause Lchelon's producLs are sLandards-based, Lhey lnLeroperaLe wlLh llghL polnL
conLrollers, lumlnalres, and sensors from a range of Lhlrd-parLy suppllers.

Conc|us|on
CuLdoor llghLlng conLrol ls an emerglng besL pracLlce, and no one has more experlence
wlLh conLrol neLworks Lhan Lchelon. Lchelon offers:
! A standards-based p|atform w|th 100 coverage of both w|red and w|re|ess
||ght|ng env|ronments. ln facL, Lchelon ls Lhe only vendor able Lo supporL boLh
LC and 8l connecLlvlLy Lechnologles, meanlng llghL owners do noL have Lo
compromlse on achlevlng full coverage of Lhelr llghLlng conLrol sysLems. Lchelon
has been a sLrong proponenL of boLh Lhe lSC 14908 and LonMark ecosysLems.
! roven re||ab|||ty. Lchelon has a Lrack record of more Lhan 600 clLles and 2
mllllon llghLs llL up, and lLs power llne Lechnology has been proven Lo work ln
even Lhe harshesL envlronmenLs.
! Industr|a| sca|e. Among Lchelon's successful lnsLallaLlons are clLywlde neLworks
of more Lhan 100,000 llghLs. lLs scalable peer-Lo-peer archlLecLure and
commlLmenL Lo sLandards makes lL easy for llghL owners Lo add of new sensor
Lypes.

1o flnd ouL more abouL how conLrol neLworklng can lead Lo beLLer energy efflclency,
safeLy, and 8Cl from ouLdoor llghLlng sysLems, allow Lchelon Lo creaLe a cusLomlzed
sLandards-based spec, or conLacL Lchelon Lo seL up a plloL (proof of concepL) pro[ecL.