Effective light is right on time
Lighting can account for a large part of the energy consumption of the public sector and therefore there are good opportunities for public activities to save by improving lighting. The Project Metropolis Lighting - Green Economy has brought together five Swedish and seven Danish municipalities but also other actors from both sides of the Öresund, such as companies, universities and Region Skåne. The partners in the project have worked to accelerate the transition to energy-efficient LED lighting, both indoors and outdoors. At the same time, the requirements for artificial light have increased, and with LED lighting, in addition to the possibility of saving energy, there is also the chance to improve the quality of lighting and adapt it both to the individual and to the type of activity.
The main objective of the project has been to reduce energy consumption (the goal was to save 5,700,000 kWh/year) and this has been achieved. The transition to LED lighting in the project has resulted in a total energy saving of 7,251,446 kWh, which corresponds to the electricity consumption of 1800 households. This is an average energy saving of 61% for all sub-projects where in some cases they have managed to save over 90% and at the same time create improved lighting!
“We are very proud of our many excellent results in the project. This has been a challenge for the project partners as we had a pandemic at the same time, says Maria Edgren, Innovation Skåne. The great importance of light for humans and the right light in the right place are some of the things that I bring with me from the project.
In addition, the participants have investigated various aspects of light quality from LED lighting, and this work is described in detail in the final publication. It is emphasized that high quality of light is important because we stay indoors in artificial light for much of our waking time, and thus do not stay in natural daylight.
One place where quality is particularly central is in schools, where lighting could affect pupils' ability to concentrate and wellbeing and thus their school performance. In Roskilde, lighting has been modernised through new LED luminaires at a number of schools and the quality of the lighting has been evaluated by Aalborg University.
Some research has shown that lighting that mimics the natural changes of light can help reduce the negative effects of indoor light. LED technology makes it possible with a dynamic lighting that adapts to the biological rhythm of the human being and just as daylight varies over the day in intensity and color temperature. That's why Lighting Metropolis has also looked at the importance of light for well-being in healthcare. The nursing home Åbyhem in Klippan, two wards at Helsingborg Lasarett and one in Malmö have had circadian lighting installed. This has, among other things, provided the opportunity for night workers to work in a light with lower intensity and warmer color temperatures, as well as to be able to sit in a “light shower” for about 15 minutes to become “energized”. So far, the results of the research in the departments are not fully completed, but the amount of light doubled while the amount of energy was halved and there is much evidence that the working environment is improving. Another important result of Lighting Metropolis is that Region Skåne, in collaboration with Lund University and various suppliers, has developed a requirement specification for circadian lighting in healthcare. This requirement specification is now used nationally.
“There are a lot of exciting results, but what I will remember best is how you can be outdoors or indoors. Society is densifying more and more and it is providing less and less opportunities for daylight. By mimicking the constant differences in light as there is outdoors, much of this is achieved indoors, which is a prerequisite for us to continue with a community building that meets the future challenges in a sustainable way for both humans and the environment in harmony,” says Fredrik Malmberg, Innovation Skåne.
Another aspect that was investigated is how artificial lighting affects the environment. Light pollution can be an environmental problem with negative consequences for humans, animals and plants and therefore attention is paid to research investigating what properties light should have in order to disturb nature as little as possible.
But how, then, should a public business go about replacing its lighting? The municipality of Trelleborg will carry out a major modernization of the road lighting by replacing all luminaires with LED. Jimmy Bengtsson of the Urban Environment Administration in Trelleborg is responsible for the work and told at the closing seminar in Copenhagen how the municipality had developed a strategy to transition to sustainable road lighting in the next few years by installing LED. In autumn 2022, Trelleborg has started work on a procurement and the entire exchange is expected to take about 3 years. Lund Municipality has also taken a first step towards this by working with a coherent lighting strategy around outdoor lighting in different parts of the municipality, including the surrounding villages.
The project has also investigated, for example, a skate park and several sports halls. Different start-up companies in Greater Copenhagen came together in a network and participated in projects and to develop their own operations. The project has been implemented between 2019 and 2022 by Gate 21 in Denmark and Innovation Skåne in Sweden and has been funded through Interreg Öresund Kattegat Skagerrak.
Link to the project catalogue
The link to the film
LED Facts
LED means Light Emitting Diode and is more efficient than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. The light sources also have longer lifespans than other technologies, so although they are a little more expensive in manufacture, they pay off quickly.
With LED technology, it is easier than with an incandescent lamp to design and adapt the light according to the desired field of use. It is possible to create light with exactly the right color temperature and intensity for a specific purpose. LED lighting can also be directed in a better way. There are also negative aspects regarding the use of LEDs, but these can in most cases be avoided through knowledge in procurement and installation/operation, as various guides and examples have been developed within the project. These are available through the project's website.
Research shows that some LED lighting emits a greater proportion of blue light, which can be negative for humans, animals and plants. By making light “blueless” by reducing the amount of blue wavelength light to almost zero, one solves a large part of these concerns, but in addition to that, adaptation of the light around intensity, direction, etc.