Tipperary County Council has committed to reducing energy consumption across the region with the piloting of smart lighting systems.

The local authority is rolling out the pilot scheme in Thurles, Drangan and Clonoulty as part of the Interreg North West Europe SMART-SPACE Project.

Public street lighting is accountable for 35% of Tipperary County Council's energy consumption. Upgrading an old streetlight to a standard LED can reduce energy costs by up to 50%. Currently, 28% of Tipperary's total public street lighting is LED. Going a step further and installing Smart Lighting can result in even more energy savings and reduce CO2 emissions. A smart lighting system uses technology such as motion detectors to monitor movement and adjusts the lighting accordingly.

Over the coming months 600 Smart LED lights will be installed across the three pilot sites. Tipperary County Council has been working with Tipperary Energy Agency and our EU project partners on this smart LED lighting pilot initiative which will be one of the largest installations of smart lights of any county council in Ireland. 40% of the associated costs are being funded by Tipperary County Council with the remaining 60% being funded by Interreg North West Europe (EU). SSE Airtricity Utility Solutions were awarded the contract following the tender process and they have commenced the installation of the Smart Lights.

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Michael Tierney, Tipperary County Council, Executive Engineer, said: "These smart street lights give Tipperary County Council better control over how we manage our street lights. Initially in some areas we will pilot interactive lighting where we will have the technology to dim down lighting where there is no public movement detected and light up an area once the system detects pedestrians or cars approaching. In areas like car parks where there is no movement from midnight to 7am, energy use could potentially be reduced by 80%. These lights can notify the Council of a fault and give more accurate information on power usage. In other areas such as Liberty Square, Thurles, we plan to pilot a different type of smart light where the light colours can even be changed through an app for special events like St. Patrick's Day."

Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council, Cllr. Marie Murphy commented: "This pilot scheme, in cooperation with our European partners, shows what can be achieved when we work together for the good of our communities. It has never been so important to reduce energy consumption as it is now in the context of climate change. Tipperary County Council can be a leader and show the way in this important endeavour."

Siona Daly, Acting CEO of Tipperary Energy Agency added: "We expect to see annual energy savings of approximately 150,000kWh, which is the equivalent electricity required to power nineteen homes in a year. Furthermore, if this SMART-SPACE lighting project proves to be a success in Tipperary, it could impact national policy and decision making on public lighting which could be invaluable as the National Public Lighting Retrofit Project starts to gain traction."