Car parks are a tough environment for lighting. Besides high requirements in terms of safety, efficiency and sustainability, “soft” factors such as image and well-being are increasingly focused on by users and operators. Claudia Lüdenbach, Marketing Manager for the Industry application at TRILUX, explained how smart networked car park lighting increases efficiency and safety, improves the user experience – and simultaneously drives digitalisation.

What are the biggest challenges faced by car park operators today?

Basically, car park operators have to square the circle. They must keep operating costs for lighting as low as possible – while lighting the car park in a way that makes customers feel not only safe, but also comfortable. And this is for a good reason: car parks are often the first point of contact when visiting a city, a business or a sports event. Thus the lighting quality in the car park is an important, image-forming factor – and therefore a central starting point for improving the customer experience. With our weather-proof luminaires, we balance both requirements perfectly. Luminaires such as Aragon Fit LED have a pioneering energy efficiency of up to 170 lm/W and adapt perfectly to their often highly specific conditions thanks to modular construction and an enormous variety of optics and lighting technology.

 

Is it reasonable to apply trending topics such as networking and light management to car parks?

Absolutely. Our weather-proof luminaires are designed to be networked simply and quickly via plug & play using the LiveLink light management system. With intelligent, sensor-controlled lighting, operators can further increase operating costs without compromising the feeling of safety. Thanks to the “swarm intelligence” of our networked luminaires, it is possible to realise “running” light, which means that lighting accompanies the user on the way through the car park in a targeted manner. And it pays off: by refurbishing a conventional T8 lighting solution with LED technology, operating costs are lowered by roughly 55 percent, and when combined with a light management system, the potential savings go up to 81 percent. And with solutions such as Aragon Fit LED, the transition is a piece of cake. The luminaire is so flexible and versatile that existing light points can usually be refurbished with 1:1 replacement. Quick and simple, without new lighting design or complicated reconstruction.

Is transitioning to the cloud worth it?

Yet again, absolutely. Smart networked lighting provides operators with entirely new options for system control and monitoring. For instance, you can use TRILUX Monitoring Services  to monitor your system in a fully automated way in real time via the cloud. As soon as action is required, operator or service provider are informed automatically via push notification. This needs-based, predictive maintenance is significantly more cost-efficient than rigid maintenance intervals. In addition, defective luminaires – for instance in cases of vandalism – are immediately reported and can be replaced quickly. This way, no one has to worry about “dark corners” anymore.

What would car park lighting of the future look like for you?

We have already made our weather-proof luminaires fit for future requirements today. They are IoT-ready and can simply be equipped with IoT modules via plug & play. Even retroactively. This interface provides operators with maximum flexibility – and many perspectives for the future. For instance, they can achieve WiFi in the parking garage using the appropriate modules, detect pollutants using sensors, integrate cameras or loudspeakers and much more. Beyond that, we offer our customers the entire spectrum of Location Based Services for car parks. A classic combination consists of Proximity Marketing and Indoor Navigation. It allows operators to inform their customers about special offers and sights in their vicinity via push notification – and to guide them from their car into the shop and back later, all without a GPS signal. This turns lighting in the car park into flexible IoT infrastructure.

How can I obtain the ideal solution?

TRILUX as a full-service provider takes on, when requested, all tasks concerning design, installation and operation of the lighting system – including innovative digital applications such as monitoring services or location-based services. Smart maintenance concepts such as Maintenance Services provide companies with a maximum peace of mind and safety: Select service partners monitor maintenance requirements of the lighting system and take care of any required maintenance work on site. In terms of financing, we offer our customers a wide range of customised financing instruments  such as leasing, renting, hire purchase or Pay per Use. The best part about it: often, refurbishing a conventional lighting installation can finance itself through operating costs savings, without dedicated investment. This means the road is clear for the lighting of the future.