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Outdated street lighting places a heavy burden on cities, driving up energy and operating costs. That’s why upgrading municipal outdoor lighting is high on the agenda for many local authorities. This often raises the question: should we invest directly in intelligent lighting management, or is switching to LED technology enough for now? Zhaga interfaces provide a future-proof solution. They make it easy to retrofit lighting management and IoT components at any time - with little effort. This allows local authorities to remain flexible and gradually equip their infrastructure for the requirements of tomorrow. The example of Neubrandenburg shows how it can work in practice.
Switching to LED is already standard practice for many local authorities. There are plenty of reasons for this. It addresses high energy and operating costs, helps meet CO₂ targets and sustainability goals. "Refurbishment with LED can reduce energy consumption by around 70%." explains Stefan Metzner, Head of Outdoor Lighting Sales at TRILUX. And progress is measurable: while early LED generations delivered around 50 lm/W, today’s solutions now offer up to 191 lm/W. Even existing LED systems often benefit from a technology upgrade.
However, LED technology alone doesn’t unlock full potential. Further savings and benefits can only be achieved through intelligent lighting management . "Depending on the application and traffic volume, lighting management systems can deliver additional energy savings of up to 30%. This is especially true with motion and daylight-controlled lighting," says Metzner. Lighting management not only saves energy — it also improves safety, enhances public spaces, and reduces light pollution. Tunable White luminaires add further flexibility, allowing colour temperatures to be adjusted between 2,200 K and 4,000 K based on use or environment.
A visible difference: the LED upgrade has significantly improved visibility and the feeling of safety across the city.
The revised DIN EN 13201 standard gives cities more freedom in how they manage lighting. For example, lighting levels can now automatically adapt when traffic volumes drop. Changes in the urban environment can also be considered. For example, “If a supermarket turns off its car park lights at 9 p.m. and the frequency of use of the public space decreases at the same time, the street lighting in that area can also be dimmed,” explains Metzner. Instead of costly rewiring, luminaires are simply reprogrammed.
The city of Neubrandenburg shows how a forward-thinking approach pays off. As part of a major lighting upgrade, TRILUX LED luminaires with Zhaga interfaces were installed — but without lighting management initially. Recognising the long-term benefits of smart lighting, the city opted for upgradeable systems. Mike Rolle from Neubrandenburger Stadtwerke is delighted, "Not only do we benefit from significantly improved lighting quality and greatly reduced energy costs, we can transform the lighting into a smart system at any time with minimal effort."
The TRILUX Lumega IQ N luminaire is available with either one or two Zhaga interfaces – positioned above and below the luminaire head. These allow plug-and-play installation of compatible lighting control modules. That means that luminaires can be controlled in a targeted manner and flexibly adapted to changing requirements. "If lighting management cannot be realised as a first step, cities and municipalities should still consider Zhaga interfaces in order to future-proof their infrastructure," says Metzner. This is because the right light is already installed and can be upgraded to an intelligent system when required. In addition to light management components, environmental and noise sensors can also be integrated.
Zhaga interfaces give cities a simple, economical way to prepare their outdoor lighting for the future — no matter when the next step is taken.
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