Stadtwerke Lemgo, a German municipal power company, released the company’s newest technology idea. The company’s new "dial4light" technology allows residents to use their personal mobile phones to turn on streetlamps only when needed. The system allows residents to call in to turn a streetlamp on when needed. The city would only turn them on if called; this is shown to save money and energy. Stadtwerke Lemgo is seeking out partners to put this idea into practice in more German towns.
Dieter Grote originally thought of this idea when he noticed that the streetlamps in his town were being switched off during the night to save money. He was concerned about the safety of his children and others in the community. While visiting a public-services exhibit, he came up with the idea of being able to switch the light on and off as needed. The technology is easy enough to use by anyone. A resident would register their personal cell phone to the system for free and when they needed a light turned on they would just call in the streetlamp number and the neighboring lights would be turned on as well. It would take a matter of seconds for the lights to be turned on.
Dial4light seemed to work best in areas where there is little activity at night. When used in an area where the light needed to be turned on more than three times a night, the streetlamp consumed more energy to warm up each time than if it were to stay on the entire night. This is a crucial part of the new technology. Stadtwerke Lemgo is investigating where the new technology would be most useful before installing it. The system also tracks usage so it can be adjusted by the city.
Dail4light is a very interesting concept. If the city and residents used the system properly, it would be a very influential change to the community. The money that was going to pay for the energy to light the streetlamps can now be put towards other expenses the city needs to pay and the energy saved will help with the energy crisis faced by today’s society. With the streetlamps no longer on a timer, a resident would only need to call to turn on a streetlamp before about going outside in the dark, especially when it gets darker earlier in the evening or stays darker in the early morning. Registering phones to the system will help track who and when the streetlamps are being requested to be turned on. Stadwerke Lemgo’s new technology can help change the way many municipals could be performed. Even with the recession affecting everyone, this new technology has the potential to make it in today’s marketplace.
Dial4Light seems like a good idea, but I think that in the end it might not make that big of an impact on cutting down light costs. It said in the article that if the light needs to be turned off and on 3 times in the night that it is more costly than just keeping them on all night. With everyone on different schedules, I feel like this could actually do the opposite and increase costs. Some people have to go to work, walk their dog, drive to the airport, etc. Secondly, safety is another factor. Im sure people don't want to look out their window in the middle of the night and see complete darkness. I think Germany should test out Dial4Light in a couple suburban neighborhoods to see how effective it really is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dylan. Dial4light is a good idea but when the light is turned on more then 3 times during the night it has the opposite effect of what it was supposed to do. In the places where the street lamps aren’t needed at night, has their been increased crime or do people feel unsafe? Many people have different schedules and leave their house at different times of the day and night. Will Germany end up using this idea or will it die down because it is using too much energy or it is not safe. I agree with Dylan on the idea that Germany should test this idea out on different types of neighborhoods to see if Dial4light is actually effective in other places.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things I thought about when reading this article was the crime rate. I feel like it would increase because in the case of an emergency, I highly doubt that someone would be able to take the time to use the cell phones to turn on the street lights. I don't think this is a good idea for urban cities that have a high level of activity at night. It would be a good addition to streets in rural towns that do not already have street lights so they would have an extra sense of security.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above posts as well. In theory it seems like a good idea, but I think there are much more practical means of accomplishing the same thing. First the problems with this idea are as mentioned above the increase in crime. If this ordinance was put into place in areas with only low levels of crime I am sure these levels would quickly increase. Second, the electricity saved would add up over the weeks and months, but this same problem can be solved with solar panels. If instead of having to call to turn on your street lights, solar panels were installed so that during the day enough electricity was collected and stored to power the lights all night it would solve both problems of crime and power usage. Also, the cost the either employ someone to receive calls and manual turn on and off the lights or to install and maintain software for turning on and off the lights at the request of a mobile phone would eventually catch up to the price of the solar panels. Unless the reason for this ordinance is light pollution then I think there are better ways about going about solving this problem.
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