Smart outdoor lighting in Joensuu

The project started in the spring of 2023
The outdoor lighting of the city of Joensuu has experienced a significant change thanks to the new intelligent control system. The North Karelia procurement department tendered the project in the spring of 2023 and chose C2 SmartLight Oy as the system supplier. The installations were completed at the end of 2023, and the new system covers approximately 280 lighting centers, which include the control of lighting for street lights and sports venues.

Fault notifications in real time and remote control
City engineer Tero Toivanen and construction manager Janne Kettunen state that the old system was at the end of its lifecycle, so an update was necessary. With the new system, failure notifications are received in real time, which greatly improves the efficiency of maintenance. This is important, because there are 22,000 outdoor lights in Joensuu, and previously the city had to rely on residents' feedback of the lighting faults.

Energy efficiency and savings
Thanks to the smart system, the city's lights can now be controlled and monitored remotely, which brings many benefits, such as improved energy efficiency. Led luminairess consume a third of the energy of traditional lights, and the city has been using leds for ten years already, which has brought significant savings in energy consumption.

Dimming profiles and switching off of lights for Finlands light summer season
The city has also implemented dimming profiles in the new lights, which reduce the light output during quiet times without the human eye noticing the change. In addition, the lights are turned off at night with the exception of the city center from the end of May to the end of July when the nights are light in Finland.

Future possibilities
Tero Toivanen and Janne Kettunen emphasize that the best lighting is the kind that city dwellers don't notice. Thanks to the intelligent system, outdoor lighting in Joensuu is now discreet but efficient, ensuring a safe and comfortable urban environment.

The new system also opens doors to future possibilities, such as luminaire-specific control, as well as sensors and meters that can measure, for example, air quality or noise. This technology enables the continuous development of the lighting infrastructure of the city of Joensuu and the improvement of a pleasant urban environment, such as the control of special lighting objects.