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Norway's Auto-Dimming Highway Lights
Smart motion sensors provide an enormous savings on electricity costs
By Rain Noe - Jan 02, 2018
In our homes, the budget-minded among us will turn a light off when leaving a room. There's no point in paying for electricity when no one is around to reap its benefits. But this money-saving tactic has traditionally not been possible with highway lights, which municipalities are obligated to leave on all night in case a car should pass.
The Norwegian municipality of Nes I Hole has therefore installed sensors on their light poles along their local Highway 155. With no cars around, the lights default down to 20% of their power; as soon as they detect an oncoming vehicle, the lights kick up to 100%, and communicate with each other to synchronize the illumination with the car's presence. Here's how it works:
As stated in the video, the system will pay for itself in under five years, and other countries with higher energy costs would reap the savings even faster.
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
3 Comments
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This must be Eastern Norway.
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how does this work for pedestrians or cyclists?
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I imagine in person, the 20% is enough for someone moving slower like a pedestrian / cyclist.
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Continued Reading
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