Street Lighting Modernisation: How a Typical Town Can Save 300 000 EUR a Year

• Smart urban lighting, Sustainability

A modelled scenario for a ~3 000-luminaire municipality: nearly 4x lower electricity costs and payback in under 3 years

Quick summary

For a typical Lithuanian town of about 11 000 residents with nearly 3 000 street luminaires, moving the whole network to adaptive control produces a clear, modellable outcome. Based on Lusety’s methodology and comparable deployments, such a town can cut annual electricity costs from roughly 425 000 EUR to about 100 000 EUR. The Lusety HORIZON platform combines DALI-2 control, Zhaga Book 18-compliant luminaires, and Lightwave controllers to adapt lighting intensity to real traffic and pedestrian activity instead of running at full brightness all night. In this modelled scenario the result is a 77% drop in electricity consumption, over 300 000 EUR saved per year, and a 77% cut in CO2 emissions, with a ~930 000 EUR investment paying back in under three years. The figures here are a projection, not a single measured project: actual results depend on the age of the existing luminaires, current consumption, and local electricity prices. The same architecture scales down to a handful of streets or up to a city’s most complex intersections.

Modelled results: a ~3 000-luminaire town

The scenario below models a town running nearly 3 000 luminaires that burn at the same intensity all night, regardless of whether the street is empty or people are moving through it, and what changes when it switches to adaptive control.

Comparison table

These figures are modelled from Lusety’s methodology and comparable projects, not measured from one named deployment. In this scenario the ~930 000 EUR investment pays back in under 3 years. After that, every euro saved stays in the municipality’s budget, every month, every year.

How adaptive street lighting works

A conventional system lights at the same level throughout the night. Adaptive lighting adjusts intensity based on traffic activity, time of day, and weather conditions.

The lighting wave principle

The foundation of the Lusety system is the lighting wave principle. When a person walks along a street at night, a zone of higher-intensity light forms automatically around them. The zone follows their movement: the street ahead is already lit, and behind them it dims naturally. To the person it feels as though the whole town is illuminated, but energy is only consumed within a few dozen metres around the moving object.

Technical protocols

Control communication between luminaires runs on the DALI-2 protocol, a European standard for precise per-luminaire intensity regulation without dedicated control wiring. Physical luminaire connections conform to the Zhaga Book 18 standard. City-level data exchange uses the TALQ protocol, which is in use in smart cities across Europe.

Decentralised architecture and system reliability

Most systems on the market control luminaires centrally: all decisions are made on a server, and if the server becomes unreachable the system stops. This is a critical infrastructure risk.

How the decentralised Lightwave architecture works

Lusety’s Lightwave control modules work differently: each luminaire is an independent control node that calculates and responds autonomously. Decisions are made directly at the luminaire, so the response to movement is instantaneous. If the internet connection drops or the central server fails, luminaires continue operating according to the last configured profile: the town does not go dark. In the event of a cyber attack, the affected node is isolated while the rest of the infrastructure continues to operate.

Up to 65 000 control zones in a single system

Lusety HORIZON, combined with Lightwave control modules, allows up to 65 000 independent lighting zones to be configured within a single city. Every intersection, pedestrian crossing, bridge, or square can have its own lighting profile with distinct intensity levels, response logic, and time schedules.

Conventional solutions control luminaires in groups of several hundred. Here, a quiet residential street and a main arterial road are managed according to different parameters. Even the most complex infrastructure of Lithuania’s largest cities fits within a single system.

How such a deployment works: from decision to live system

A town can take an ambitious path, modernising the whole network at once rather than starting with a single pilot street. In practice, close to a year passes from the first conversation with a municipality to the start of installation, most of it public procurement and coordination with institutions.

Typical implementation timeline

Physical installation in phases takes approximately 4 months. Contractors replace luminaires and upgrade electrical equipment while the Lusety team brings up the software layer in parallel. The system works on a plug-and-play basis: no reconstruction of separate control cable infrastructure is required, and control modules are installed into existing luminaire housings. Staff training on the system is a single 3-hour session.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How quickly does street lighting modernisation pay back?

In the modelled ~3 000-luminaire scenario, a ~930 000 EUR investment pays back in under 3 years. Annual savings amount to around 300 000 EUR from electricity alone: costs fall from ~425 000 EUR to ~100 000 EUR per year. Exact payback time depends on the number of luminaires, current energy consumption, and local electricity prices.

2. How does the lighting wave principle work?

The lighting wave principle is an adaptive street lighting method in which the movement of a pedestrian or vehicle activates a zone of higher-intensity light around them. The zone travels with the person: the road ahead is already lit, and behind them it dims automatically. The entire process happens in real time, so to the person it appears that the town is lit at full intensity everywhere, while energy is consumed only within a few dozen metres around the moving object.

3. Which technical standards does the Lusety system use?

The Lusety system uses three European-standardised protocols. DALI-2 for lighting control, enabling precise per-luminaire intensity regulation without separate control wiring. Zhaga Book 18, the luminaire physical connector standard, ensuring interoperability with equipment from different manufacturers. TALQ, the city-level data exchange protocol used in smart cities across Europe.

4. Will the city go dark if the server fails or a cyber attack occurs?

No. Lusety’s Lightwave architecture is decentralised: each luminaire is an independent control module. If the internet connection drops or the central server fails, luminaires continue operating according to the last configured profile. In the event of a cyber attack, the affected node is isolated while the rest of the infrastructure continues to operate, so there is no single point of failure that could paralyse the entire system.

5. How long does the physical installation of a street lighting modernisation take?

For a town of approximately 11 000 residents with nearly 3 000 luminaires, physical installation in phases takes approximately 4 months. Staff training on the system is a 3-hour session. Public procurement and institutional coordination procedures typically add 9-12 months before physical installation begins.

6. What is a typical investment for street lighting modernisation?

In the modelled scenario the investment is ~930 000 EUR for approximately 3 000 luminaires. The final figure depends on the number of luminaires, the condition of existing housings, and the scope of electrical infrastructure upgrades required. The Lusety system operates on a plug-and-play basis, with no reconstruction of separate control cable infrastructure needed, which reduces overall installation costs.

7. Is the Lusety HORIZON system suitable for larger cities?

Yes. The Lusety HORIZON platform with Lightwave control modules supports up to 65 000 independent lighting zones within a single system. Each street, intersection, pedestrian crossing, or square can be assigned its own lighting profile. Even the complex infrastructure of a large city fits within a single system.

Conclusions: street lighting modernisation ROI

Street lighting modernisation is one of the fastest-paying-back infrastructure investments a municipality can make, and this modelled scenario shows why: the savings are large, they compound, and they begin as soon as the system goes live. The same adaptive control and decentralised architecture behind these figures scale to towns and cities of any size.

Key takeaways:

• A modelled ~3 000-luminaire town cuts annual electricity costs from about 425 000 EUR to about 100 000 EUR, saving over 300 000 EUR per year.
• CO2 emissions fall by 77%, from 144 tonnes to 33 tonnes per year, in the modelled scenario.
• The ~930 000 EUR investment pays back in under 3 years, after which all savings stay in the municipal budget.
• The decentralised Lightwave architecture keeps luminaires operating even if the server or internet connection fails, and isolates any node under cyber attack.
• The system supports up to 65 000 independent lighting zones, so every intersection, crossing, or square can run its own profile.
• Physical installation across nearly 3 000 luminaires takes about 4 months, with staff trained in a single 3-hour session.

Learn more

Do you have questions about what street lighting modernisation could save your municipality? We’d be happy to model the numbers for your specific network.

Email us: info@lusety.com

Call us: +370 649 912 22