Connected lighting could help Europe meet its green recovery goals

March 17, 2021

Signify argues EU targets can be realized through the widespread adoption of connected lighting

Indoor navigation, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in Dubai

Recently approved EU recovery plans call for a digital transition to increase the economic and societal resilience of its member states. Connected lighting, Signify argues, is the way forward.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility, voted in by the European Parliament, is a key financial instrument to assist post-pandemic reforms and is largely structured around welcoming green and digital investments, in alignment with 2050 climate-neutrality targets.

“This Facility provides EU countries with a unique chance to rebuild and revamp their economies for the post-COVID world,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for An Economy that Works for People, adding that the €672.5 billion stimulus package “is an opportunity to build resilience and embrace a more digital and greener future.”

Lighting company Signify supports the Union’s funding and green transition, becoming a carbon neutral company itself in September, and advocates for the use of connected lighting systems to digitalize societies.

“Instrumental to our achieving carbon neutrality was equipping our buildings with our own energy efficient connected lighting,” said Harry Verhaar, Global Head of Public and Government Affairs at Signify. “It really can help governments and enterprises to fulfil the twin recovery objectives of a carbon neutral and a digital Europe.”

In 2018, the company installed a state-of-the-art connected lighting system at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) in Dubai – a learning environment with no light switches.

Controlled by Signify’s Interact Office platform, luminaires are equipped with motion sensors that can monitor human presence. The sensors are linked to an integrated Building Management System, including the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and, together, these adapt to footfall and room usage, resulting in a 15% reduction in the university’s total energy bill.

The installation also provides teachers and students with indoor navigation as the light points transmit geopositioning codes to user’s university smartphone apps, guiding them to their destination.

“Our first collaboration with HBMSU demonstrates the many ways our connected lighting and software applications can support Dubai’s most forward-thinking university, improving the daily life for staff, students and visitors,” said Goktug Gur, President and CEO of Philips Lighting Middle East and Turkey.

We are not just providing good quality, energy efficient lighting but data-based insights that help the university’s site management”

“We are not just providing good quality, energy efficient lighting but data-based insights that help the university’s site management,” he added.

Similar success has been seen in a joint effort between Signify, telecoms giant Cisco, and IT infrastructure company Atea, with the three companies implementing Interact Office at Atea’s new facility in Stavanger, Norway.

All the building’s main systems run on a single converged IP network and the 700 luminaires collect data on building occupancy and space management, as well as environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels.

“You will always need light, so why not utilize the ceiling and put in sensors connected to the same infrastructure?” asked Senior Network Engineer and System Architect, Pål Bjelland, adding that “by using this kind of technology, we get better utilization of all the areas and facilities in the building, we work more efficiently and get more satisfied employees.”

And the Interact system doesn’t end in the office. The company has technologies for sectors including hospitality, retail, sports, and industry, and Interact City, a software for managing smart street lighting, is high on Signify’s agenda. Globally, the company has undertaken 2,260 connected street lighting projects in 58 countries.

For the latter, data is sent to city planners which can help to inform policies that improve energy efficiency initiatives, operations and general liveability. Built-in scene management software can detect urban problems like traffic and parking issues as well as and could even be made to send alerts to the emergency services upon hearing the sound of a car crash or a gunshot.

“The Green Deal really is Europe’s ‘Man on the Moon’ moment and the added impetus provided by recovery and resilience plans, we hope, will propel Europe to be the first carbon neutral continent by 2050,” says Verhaar. “But behind every successful Moon shot is great technology. The good news is the energy efficient digital technology exists. It is tried, tested and proven, so let’s grasp this opportunity for a recovery that sets the agenda for the Europe we want to see.”

About the author:

Zak Derler

Associate Editor for Branded Content, Climate Home News

For further information, please contact:

For editorial enquiries:

Signify Global Integrated Communications
Neil Pattie
Tel: + 31 6 15 08 48 17
Email: neil.pattie@signify.com

For commercial enquiries:

Flipping the Green Switch on the European Green Deal

The European Green Deal is the world’s most comprehensive climate action initiative, with ambitious goals to achieve a carbon-neutral continent by 2050 and to reconcile the way we consume resources. Our Green Switch program allows you to take action without delay. LED and connected lighting offer a simple way for you to contribute towards the Green Deal’s goals to cut emissions, create jobs, and boost innovation.

Learn more about Green Switch

At Signify, we are taking a leading role to bring better light to the world and to help provide a more sustainable future. We do this by delivering light which is energy efficient, saves resources, and improves lives. At Signify, we also ‘walk the talk’ and commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2020. We are driving our zero waste to landfill program, striving for a zero injury workplace, and are engaging suppliers for a sustainable supply chain.

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2023, we had sales of EUR 6.7 billion, approximately 32,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for seven consecutive years and have achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for four consecutive years, placing Signify in the top one percent of companies assessed. News from Signify can be found in the Newsroom, on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors is located on the Investor Relations page.

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