Montreal Milestone: 50,000 Streetlights Converted to LEDs
January 21, 2019
Montreal’s changeover to LED streetlights includes the simultaneous deployment of a smart lighting management system, part of a five-year project to transform Montreal into “a city of innovation.”
The project represents North America’s largest implementation of smart LED streetlights.
A key requirement in the $110 million project has been full interoperability among components made by multiple manufacturers, a first for this type of project anywhere in the world. “For me it was unthinkable that the city would attach itself to a single manufacturer for the next 20 years,” says Isabelle Lessard. In a recent interview with LDS she said, “We needed more than promises of interoperability.” The result: “a model that can be replicated by other cities. It’s a world premiere.”
Around 6,000 high-pressure sodium luminaires are being replaced with LED version every month. The city estimates it is saving 60% in energy consumption and 55% of equipment maintenance costs as a result of the extended lifespan of LED luminaires.
The new LED lights are also “dark sky” certified, since their beam direction limits light pollution in the sky and sleep disruption of the surrounding fauna.
The project manager and system integrator is the Quebec business Énergère. DimOnOff, a Quebec company specializing in lighting control systems, is supplying the integration platform, the management software, and 20% of nodes and gateways.
The former GE business Current is supplying 60% of the equipment while Telematic Wireless, a world leader in wireless networks, is supplying the final 20% of nodes and gateways.
The city has asked that the smart lighting management system be operational as early as during the first phases of the project, which implied that the replacement of streetlights and the development of the necessary network infrastructure had to be realized simultaneously.
Read more about the project: www.lightingdesignandspecification.ca/design/2523-montreal-undertakes-one-of-north-america-s-largest-smart-lighting-projects.
Learn more about Isabelle Lessard in this LDS profile: www.lightingdesignandspecification.ca/peers-profiles/2524-isabelle-lessard-engineer-responsible-for-urban-lighting-in-montreal-a-passion-that-looks-beyond-prejudices.
