Street Light Control
Street light control systems help municipalities to manage their street lights automatically.
Features
The solution combines the capabilities of monitoring and controlling various public and private lights management use cases.
Remote control of different segments of the streetlights- Ongoing monitoring of the electricity consumption
- Consumption profile and analyses of the electricity usage
Alarms for none working lights
Alarms in case of opening the electric board
Alarms in cases of unauthorized connection to the electricity network
Key Benefits
Smartify street lights – save energy, prevent frauds, improve services for citizens or employees.
Reduce direct energy consumption costs
Reduce maintenance and operation costs
Save energy
Increase quality of service on respect of streetlights
Improving safety in the streets and roads
Timely identification of frauds and malfunctions
Street Light Control Use Case
Street light control is a system that helps to manage and control street lights, usually based on timers principle. This can help save energy and money, as well as improve safety in neighbourhoods. Street light control can be used automatically or manually, depending on the needs of the community.
Street lights are a necessary part of any community, but they can be costly to maintain. A street light control system can help to save money in the long run by extending the service lifetime of street lights and improving energy efficiency. In addition, a street light control system can bring people improved user experience by providing better control over when street lights are turned on and off.
If you are looking for a way to improve the control of street lights in your community, then a street light control system may be the right solution for you.
If you are interested to find out more:
Street Light Control: FAQs
ThingsLog data loggers connect to street light controllers and transmit status and consumption data wirelessly to the cloud platform. Operators can remotely switch lights on or off, set schedules and receive instant fault alerts.
The solution supports 2G, 4G, LoRa™ and NB-IoT, making it suitable for dense urban deployments as well as remote or rural locations where network coverage may be limited.
Yes. The platform allows control of individual luminaires or defined segments and groups, giving operators precise control over different zones, streets or districts.
The system continuously monitors each light’s status and energy consumption. Any deviation from expected behaviour — such as a light failing to turn on, unexpected energy draw or a circuit fault — triggers an automatic alert to the operator.
Yes. By automating on/off schedules, applying dimming profiles and identifying lights that are on unnecessarily, the platform helps municipalities and facility managers significantly reduce electricity costs and carbon footprint.
Yes. The ThingsLog solution supports dimming of compatible luminaires, allowing light intensity to be adjusted based on time of day, traffic conditions or predefined schedules.
Yes. The platform is used by municipalities for public street lighting as well as by retailers, warehouses and industrial facilities managing private outdoor and indoor lighting infrastructure.
Energy usage is logged continuously and accessible through the ThingsLog cloud platform. Operators can view consumption reports, track trends over time and export data for billing, auditing or regulatory reporting purposes.
Why Smart Street Light Control Is a Municipal Priority
Street lighting typically represents 30–40% of a municipality’s electricity bill. With hundreds or thousands of luminaires spread across a city, managing them efficiently requires automation. Traditional time-clock controllers cannot adapt to seasonal daylight changes, special events, or individual luminaire faults. Smart IoT-based control transforms street lighting from a passive infrastructure asset into an actively managed system that saves energy, reduces maintenance costs, and improves citizen safety.
ThingsLog Street Light Control — Technical Architecture
Central Control Cabinet Monitoring
ThingsLog connects to the electrical control cabinet (tableau) of each lighting zone. The 4G MQTT Modbus controller reads current, voltage, power, and energy consumption of the entire circuit. It also monitors the cabinet door (open/tampered alert) and any unauthorized electrical connections to the street lighting grid.
Remote Segment Control
Each lighting circuit (segment) can be switched on or off independently. Operators control segments via web dashboard or mobile app, or configure automatic schedules based on astronomical time (sunrise/sunset calculation). This enables adaptive lighting scenarios: full brightness during peak pedestrian hours, reduced brightness late at night, and festival lighting schedules.
Fault Detection and Maintenance Alerts
The platform detects individual luminaire faults by monitoring circuit current. A dead lamp in an LED circuit causes a measurable drop in circuit current. The system pinpoints the affected segment and triggers a maintenance work order automatically, reducing the need for nightly inspection patrols.
LED Dimming Integration
ThingsLog integrates with DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) and 0–10V dimming protocols, enabling individual or group dimming of LED luminaires. Dimming schedules can reduce lighting energy consumption by an additional 20–30% compared to simple on/off switching. Dimming also extends LED driver life and reduces light pollution for residents and wildlife.
Energy Savings and Carbon Reduction
A typical ThingsLog street light control deployment achieves measurable results across several dimensions:
- 20–30% energy reduction through precise time scheduling (vs. photocell or fixed timer)
- Additional 15–20% savings through dimming control during low-traffic hours
- Elimination of maintenance patrol costs (estimated €15–25 per patrol route)
- Rapid ROI of 12–24 months for medium-sized municipalities
A city with 5,000 luminaires spending €300,000 per year on electricity can save €60,000–€100,000 annually through a ThingsLog deployment.
Integration with Smart City Infrastructure
ThingsLog street light control is one component of a broader smart city monitoring stack. The same platform manages environmental monitoring stations, public building energy metering, water network telemetry, and traffic sensors. All data is available in a unified dashboard, and API integration enables connection to smart city management platforms and municipal GIS systems.
Applicable Standards and Compliance
ThingsLog street light monitoring systems are designed to comply with EN 13201 road lighting standards and EN 62386 (DALI) interface requirements. Data logging supports mandatory reporting on municipal energy consumption and carbon emissions under EU Energy Efficiency Directive requirements.
Deployment Process and Scalability
A ThingsLog street light control deployment starts with installing 4G Modbus controllers at existing control cabinets — typically a half-day installation per cabinet requiring no civil works or new cabling. Once the controllers are online, the web dashboard provides an immediate view of energy consumption per segment. Schedule programming, alarm configuration, and dimming profiles are set up remotely. The system scales from a single pilot zone of 50 luminaires to a city-wide network of tens of thousands, all managed from the same platform instance.
Reporting and Municipal Accountability
Municipal lighting managers are increasingly required to report energy consumption data to regional and national authorities under EU Energy Efficiency Directive obligations. ThingsLog generates structured energy consumption reports per zone, per street, and per month, exportable in formats compatible with public sector reporting templates. The platform also tracks carbon emission reductions resulting from energy savings, supporting municipal climate action plans and green procurement documentation. Automated monthly reports can be delivered directly to the energy manager’s inbox, eliminating the need for manual data collection from the field.
