• icon Open standards, Smart urban lighting

Smart city platforms: how street lighting becomes a way to manage the entire city’s infrastructure

Quick summary

Street lighting systems are the ideal foundation for smart city platforms due to complete city coverage, existing electrical infrastructure, and regular maintenance. IoT sensors integrated into lighting poles (air quality, traffic, noise, cameras, public address systems, etc.) provide real-time data for city management. DALI, Zhaga, and TALQ open standards ensure technological independence, free equipment choice, and long-term investment protection. The result: centralized, city-wide network management, up to 80% lower energy bills, data-driven decisions, and improved quality of urban life.

 

Why is there a need for smart city management platforms?

Smart cities are not just a futuristic vision, but a practical solution to modern urban challenges. Energy efficiency, traffic management, air quality monitoring, and public service optimization, all of it requires a reliable technological infrastructure. Street lighting systems, being one of the most widespread urban infrastructures, naturally have become an ideal foundation for building Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems.

 

But why is lighting infrastructure the ideal IoT foundation?

Street lighting systems have several unique characteristics that make them the most logical choice for building smart city platforms:

Comprehensive city coverage

Lighting poles are distributed throughout the city: on main streets, residential areas, parks, and industrial zones. This provides:

  • Geographic coverage. Controllers and sensors can be installed in any city location.
  • Uniform network density. Data collection occurs evenly across the entire territory.
  • Access to electricity. No additional power sources needed for controllers and sensors.

Existing electrical and communication infrastructure

Every lighting pole already has:

  • Electricity supply
  • Physical structure for mounting equipment
  • Often even existing cables for communication

This means that installing additional IoT sensors is significantly cheaper than building separate infrastructure from scratch.

Regular maintenance and management

The street lighting infrastructure is being maintained non-stop, which means:

  • There is a responsible department
  • Regular inspections are conducted
  • Maintenance procedures and budgets exist

Integrating IoT sensors into the existing system allows efficient use of available resources.

 

What can be integrated into a smart city platform based on urban lighting infrastructure?

A modern smart city management platform based on lighting infrastructure can include:

Environmental monitoring

Air quality sensors:

  • Air quality particle measurement
  • CO₂, NO₂, O₃ concentration monitoring
  • Air quality maps for the city

Noise monitoring:

  • Noise level measurements in decibels
  • Noise map creation
  • Threshold violation identification and alerts

Mobility and traffic management

Traffic monitoring:

  • Vehicle flow counting
  • Vehicle classification (cars, trucks, bicycles)
  • Congestion prediction

Parking management:

  • Free parking space detection
  • Real-time information delivery to drivers
  • Parking zone occupancy statistics

Public safety

Video surveillance:

  • Camera integration into lighting poles
  • Analysis for incident detection
  • Faster response to incidents

Emergency signals:

  • SOS buttons in public spaces
  • Automatic connection with emergency services
  • Lighting intensification in emergency situations

Energy management

Lighting optimization:

Renewable energy:

  • Solar panel integration
  • Energy storage system management

 

The importance of open standards: DALI, Zhaga, and TALQ

To create a truly flexible and long-term smart city platform, it is essential to use open international standards. This ensures:

  • Interoperability of equipment from different manufacturers
  • Ability to expand the system in the future
  • Protection from technological dependence on a single supplier
  • Long-term investment protection

So let’s talk of three main standards: DALI, Zhaga, and TALQ.

What is DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface)?

DALI is an international standard (IEC 62386) regulating lighting control protocol at the device level. It’s:

  • Digital protocol for lighting control
  • Allows individual control of each luminaire
  • Two-way communication channel (control + feedback)
DALI advantages:
  • Individual luminaire control
  • Real-time status monitoring
  • Fault diagnostics and notifications
  • Energy consumption measurement
  • Flexible lighting scenarios

Zhaga

The Zhaga consortium creates physical and data interface specifications for smart controllers and luminaires:

What does Zhaga regulate?
  • Mechanical mounting of sensors and controllers
  • Electrical interface standardization
  • Data exchange protocols
  • Equipment compatibility
Zhaga benefits:
  • Ability to change sensors independently of luminaire manufacturer
  • Standardized mounting solutions
  • Future expansion flexibility
  • Competitive pricing due to wider equipment selection

TALQ (Technical Assistance for Lighting Quality)

The TALQ consortium created a standard for centralized lighting control at the city level:

TALQ functions:
  • Standardized control system interface
  • Communication between central server and field devices
  • Data exchange protocols
  • System integration specifications
TALQ advantages:
  • Integration of control systems from different manufacturers
  • Centralized multi-zone management
  • Protection from vendor lock-in
  • Ability to change management platform while keeping field equipment

 

Smart city platform architecture

A modern smart city management platform consists of several layers:

Field devices (ground layer)

  • LED luminaires with DALI controllers
  • IoT sensors (air quality, traffic, meteorology)
  • Communication devices (gateways)
  • Video cameras

Communication layer

  • Wireless communication (LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, LTE)
  • Wired communication (Ethernet, PLC)
  • Local data processing (Edge computing)

Data platform (cloud/server layer)

  • Databases and storage
  • Analytics and artificial intelligence
  • Integration with other city systems
  • API interfaces for third-party applications

Management interface (application layer)

  • Control dashboard for operators
  • Reporting and analytics tools
  • Real-time visualization (dashboards)

 

Practical smart city platform use cases

Energy optimization

Scenario: street lighting automatically adapts and dims based on:

  • Real traffic intensity (data from sensors)
  • Time of day and brightness
  • Weather (less sun, higher brightness)

Result: up to 80% reduction in energy bills and carbon footprint compared to traditional systems.

Air quality monitoring

Scenario: real-time air quality monitoring across the entire city:

  • Data collection in real-time
  • Interactive air quality maps

Result: improved public health, data-driven decisions on traffic management.

Smart parking

Scenario: sensors on lighting poles monitor parking space occupancy:

  • Real-time information via mobile app
  • Navigation to free parking space
  • Optimized parking zone utilization
  • Data for city planning

Result: Llss time searching for parking, reduced traffic and CO₂ emissions.

Safe city

Scenario: integrated security system:

  • Lighting automatically intensifies upon detecting rapid movement during dark hours
  • SOS buttons in parks directly connected to security services
  • Video cameras with AI analysis
  • Faster emergency response

Result: increased resident sense of security, quick incident resolution.

 

Lusety’s approach to smart city platforms

Lusety has developed a smart city management platform HORIZON based on open architecture that is:

Built on open standards

Our solutions support:

  • DALI protocol for luminaire control
  • Zhaga interfaces for sensor integration
  • TALQ communication for centralized management

This means municipalities are not tied to a single supplier and can freely choose equipment and expand the system in the future.

Modular and flexible architecture

The platform allows:

  • Starting with a simple lighting control system
  • Gradually adding IoT sensors (air quality, traffic, parking)
  • Integrating third-party systems
  • Expanding according to needs and capabilities

Real-time data management

The centralized control dashboard provides:

  • 24/7 lighting monitoring, such as status of each luminaire, energy consumption
  • Instant fault diagnostics, such as precise fault location and cause
  • Automated scenarios, such as different dimming strategies when lighting adapts to circumstances

Data analysis and optimization

The platform collects and analyzes:

  • Lighting energy consumption and optimization opportunities
  • Traffic flow patterns based on consumed energy
  • Voltage, current, and other measurements

 

Investment protection and future perspectives

Smart city platforms based on open standards ensure:

Technological independence

  • Free manufacturer choice: you can choose DALI luminaires or Zhaga sensors from any manufacturer
  • System expansion: add new components without replacing the entire system
  • Competitive pricing: wider supply = better conditions

Long-term investment protection

  • Extended lifecycle: LED luminaires and IoT equipment serve long
  • Gradual updates: no need to replace the entire system at once
  • Standard sustainability: DALI, Zhaga, TALQ are widely recognized and stable standards

Future opportunities

An open platform allows:

  • Integrating new technologies (5G, artificial intelligence)
  • Adding new services for residents
  • Participating in international smart city projects
  • Becoming an example for other municipalities

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is a smart city management platform?

It is an integrated technological system that connects various city IoT devices (sensors, cameras, controllers) and collects data in one centralized platform. The platform enables real-time monitoring and management of city infrastructure: lighting, traffic, air quality, energy, and other services.

2. Why is street lighting the best IoT foundation?

Lighting poles are already distributed throughout the city, have electrical supply, and regular maintenance. This means installing IoT sensors on existing poles is significantly cheaper than creating new infrastructure from scratch. Additionally, lighting ensures uniform geographic coverage across the entire city territory.

3. What are DALI, Zhaga, and TALQ standards?

DALI is an international protocol for luminaire control at the device level. Zhaga provides physical and data interface specifications allowing sensors from any manufacturer to connect to luminaires. TALQ is a standard for centralized lighting control at the city level. All three are open standards ensuring equipment interoperability and technological independence.

4. Do we need to replace our entire lighting system?

No. Modern platforms are modular: you can start with one zone or function (e.g., just lighting control) and gradually expand the system by adding IoT sensors and integrating other city systems. Existing LED luminaires can often be upgraded with smart controllers without complete replacement.

5. Can we add controllers and sensors to existing LED luminaires?

Yes, if the luminaires support the Zhaga standard. Zhaga interfaces allow mechanical and electrical connection of various sensors (air quality, traffic, camera) to the luminaire without replacing it. This significantly reduces modernization costs.

6. What happens if our chosen vendor goes out of business?

This is exactly why open standards are so important. If your system is based on DALI, Zhaga, and TALQ protocols, you can freely change vendors: the equipment from another manufacturer will be compatible with your existing system. This avoids vendor lock-in and investment loss.

7. How much does a smart city platform cost?

Cost heavily depends on scope and features. It consists of two major costs: the cost of hardware (luminaires, controllers, sensors) and software (subscription or licensing). So in the end, it final cost will depend on the chosen suppliers and city size. Important to note: the smart city platform usually pays for itself in 3-7 years through energy bill reductions alone.

8. Can we start with a small project and expand later?

Absolutely yes, and this is the recommended approach. Start with a pilot zone (one neighborhood or park), test the technology, evaluate results, and then expand citywide. Open standards ensure you can add new devices or features without problems later.

9. Is our existing street lighting infrastructure compatible with open standards?

It depends on equipment age and manufacturer. Newer LED luminaires often already support the DALI protocol or can be upgraded with DALI controllers. Contact Lusety: we can perform a technical audit and evaluate your existing system’s modernization potential.

10. What kind of savings can we expect?

In the first few months from deployment date, you can expect to see your energy bill reduced by up to 80%, your maintenance costs drop by up to 20%, and your fault response grow faster by up to 60%.

 

Conclusions

Smart city management platforms based on street lighting infrastructure and open standards provide municipalities with:

  • Economic efficiency: up to 80% lower energy bills and carbon footprint, up to 20% lower maintenance costs, up to 60% faster fault response.
  • Technological independence: DALI, Zhaga, TALQ standards ensure free equipment choice.
  • Data-driven decisions: real-time information about the city.
  • Improved quality of life: safer cities, clean air, efficient infrastructure.
  • Future possibilities: a flexible platform that grows together with the city needs.

Lusety helps municipalities grow with such a smart city platform: from planning to implementation and long-term maintenance. Our solutions are based on open standards, ensuring investment protection and system flexibility.

 

Learn more about smart city platforms

Could your municipality benefit from a smart city management platform? Contact Lusety to find out how we can help:

Phone: +370 649 912 22
Email: zygimantas@lusety.com
Website: www.lusety.com

About Lusety:

Lusety is a European company creating smart city solutions and modern lighting systems. We specialize in open architecture-based platforms and street lighting controllers that ensure technological independence and long-term investment protection. We have extensive experience in municipal projects.