Spain's Guadalajara connects 12,000 new Philips LED street lights to a web browser

Contributing Editor, LEDs Magazine, and Business/Energy/Technology Journalist

The city ties in the electrical cabinets, too, for better management. Smart city functions could follow.

It's smart lights now, smart city later for Guadalajara, Spain.

The small city about 40 miles northeast of Madrid has installed 12,000 Philips LED street lights and connected them to Philips' CityTouch management software to allow remote monitoring and management of lights and of related electrical cabinets, via a web browser. CityTouch allows the system's operators to dim or brighten the illumination as needed in different pockets of the city, such as at pedestrian crossings or public squares. By tying them into the electrical cabinets — a new feature for CityTouch — Guadalajara is better able to manage power consumption through the grid, and to monitor electrical outages and leakages, Philips said.

The software provides a map-based view of all light points and of 198 cabinets, making it easier for Guadalajara to spot trouble spots and dispatch maintenance crews. The lights and cabinets communicate with the central control room via a cellular phone network.

Philips partnered with energy services provider Ferrovial Services on the job, which has already reduced energy consumption by 68% compared to the old sodium high-intensity discharge (HID) lights. The new system went live in late 2016.