A key part of the urban infrastructure, street lighting contributes to safe travel and security throughout cities. Smart street lights continue to build on these goals while also reducing energy consumption with the ability to remotely adjust lighting, through brightening or dimming and monitoring for outages.

Global outdoor lighting consumes 380 billion kilowats of energy annually, costing about 10 billlion dollars. Current best technology claims a 35% energy saving (the equivalent of roughly 500 million tons of CO2 per year) compared to conventional street lights, but is available only to coordinated, high-income areas. Smart street lights could deliver greater savings, with less overhead.

The use of smart street lights can deliver many other benefits such as cost savings, improved public safety, and reduced light pollution. The technology can be used in different locations: residential streets, high streets and city centres, and public spaces.

Your views will help us understand how society perceives the use of the smart street light technology in the public realm.