Public lighting weighs heavily on municipal budgets: according to ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition), it accounts for 41% of local authorities' electricity consumption and 37% of their electricity bill. With energy prices set to remain high and the energy transition under way, every streetlight left on unnecessarily is becoming an expense that is hard to justify.
The good news is that this item offers one of the best levers for savings. Switching to LEDs, night-time switch-off, light dimming, presence detection: smart public lighting makes it possible to light just right, in the right place and at the right time. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the driving force behind it. Sensors, connected controllers and supervision platforms turn a stock of luminaires into a remotely controllable network, at the heart of the smart city and of connected and sustainable territories.
Contents
- What are the public lighting challenges for local authorities?
- Which solutions can optimise public lighting costs?
- How does Kuzzle support connected and sustainable territories?
- FAQ on smart public lighting
What are the public lighting challenges for local authorities?
Public lighting is a service provided to residents, a police obligation of the mayor and a major item of electricity consumption. It lies at the crossroads of four challenges: regulatory compliance, technical management of the lighting stock, user safety and cost control.
What do current regulations say about public lighting?
The mayor's police powers. Article L. 2212-2 of the French General Local Authorities Code (CGCT) entrusts the mayor with ensuring "the safety and convenience of passage in streets, quays, squares and public roads", which includes lighting. However, no text imposes a general obligation to light all roads: the mayor decides on the number of light points in operation and on their schedules, by municipal order.
Preventing light pollution. Articles L. 583-1 to L. 583-5 of the French Environmental Code, created by the Grenelle 2 law of 12 July 2010, make it possible to prevent, eliminate or limit artificial light emissions that waste energy, disturb people or disrupt wildlife and plants. Article L. 583-3 entrusts the mayor with checking compliance with these rules, except for municipal installations, which are checked by the State. Articles R. 583-1 to R. 583-7, derived from Decree No. 2011-831 of 12 July 2011, specify the installations concerned, including lighting intended for travel safety.
The order of 27 December 2018. The order on the prevention, reduction and limitation of light pollution sets the technical requirements applicable to roads:
- a proportion of light emitted towards the sky (ULR) below 1% for the luminaire and 4% once installed;
- a colour temperature limited to 3,000 K;
- a surface density of installed luminous flux (DSFLI) capped at 35 lm/m² in built-up areas and 25 lm/m² outside built-up areas;
- a ban on directly lighting watercourses, bodies of water and the public maritime domain;
- the replacement, by 1 January 2025 at the latest, of luminaires with a ULR above 50%, such as old "globe lights".
This order does not impose any switch-off period for road lighting. Night-time switch-off remains a local choice, but it is strongly encouraged.
Energy planning. Article 188 of the Energy Transition for Green Growth Act provides that the territorial climate-air-energy plan (PCAET) must include a section dedicated to controlling the energy consumption of public lighting and its light pollution, where the intermunicipal body holds this competence.
How can a stock of streetlights be managed effectively?
A public lighting stock is controlled at two levels:
- At cabinet level, a command acts on a street or group of streets: time programming, dimming, switch-on and switch-off.
- At light-point level, each luminaire is controlled individually, which makes it possible to adapt intensity to actual footfall.
The difficulty lies in the heterogeneity of lighting stocks. A single municipality may combine controllers from different brands, connected via LoRaWAN, radio mesh or cellular networks, with or without the TALQ protocol. Without a unified tool, programming is done cabinet by cabinet, with staff having to travel on site at every time change, change of season or event.
The French Court of Audit (Cour des comptes) has also pointed out significant gaps in how municipalities monitor public lighting consumption and expenditure. A smart city therefore starts with reliable, centralised data.
How can night-time switch-off be reconciled with residents' safety?
Night-time switch-off is the most powerful savings lever after switching to LEDs. Yet it meets with resistance: pedestrians, cyclists and people on their own associate darkness with a feeling of insecurity. In a reply published in December 2023, the French Ministry of the Interior pointed out that public lighting must reconcile three objectives: user safety, limiting light pollution and reducing energy consumption. The mayor can therefore set partial or total switch-off times, provided they are justified with regard to these objectives. Users' perceptions should nevertheless be taken into account.
Adaptive lighting offers a compromise. Sensors detect pedestrians, two-wheelers and vehicles, and the luminaire increases its intensity as they pass. Sensitive routes (near schools, cycle paths, pedestrian crossings) keep a suitable lighting level, while empty areas remain on standby. Remote management also enables emergency switch-on from a distance in the event of an accident or an emergency intervention, a prerogative the municipality retains even when it delegates management of the lighting stock.
How much does public lighting weigh in the electricity bill?
Public lighting accounts on average for 16% of all the energy consumed by a municipality and 41% of its electricity consumption, according to ADEME's "Energy and municipal assets" survey. According to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, renovating a lighting stock can reduce its consumption by 50 to 75%, and remote management extends this gain by acting on lighting duration and intensity.
The lighting stock is ageing: ADEME estimates that more than half of installations are obsolete and consume too much energy. As the average service life of outdoor lighting equipment is 30 years, the choices made today commit the local authority for decades. According to ADEME, lighting is also the energy transition item with the fastest return on investment, between 3 and 5 years in favourable cases.
Which solutions can optimise public lighting costs?
The biggest savings come from combining several levers: modernising equipment, then finely controlling how it operates using IoT. Switching to LEDs alone reduces electricity consumption by up to 60% according to ADEME, and remote management multiplies this gain by acting on lighting duration and intensity.
| Solution | Principle | Impact on electricity consumption | Additional benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switching to LEDs | Replacing sodium and mercury lamps and "globe lights" | 50 to 75% savings with a renovation (Ministry for Ecological Transition) | Compliance with the order of 27 December 2018 |
| Night-time switch-off | Scheduled switch-off over a period in the middle of the night | Direct reduction proportional to the hours switched off | Preservation of biodiversity and the night sky |
| Dimming | Lowering luminous flux during off-peak hours | Lower power demand over the whole reduced period | Maintains a reassuring lighting level |
| Cabinet-level remote management | Programming, dimming and remote commands by group of streets | Schedules applied systematically, no more oversights | Fewer trips, failure detection |
| Light-point control | Individual control of each luminaire | Fine adjustment street by street, or even streetlight by streetlight | Extended luminaire lifespan |
| Detection-based adaptive lighting | Presence and mobility sensors that trigger lighting | Lighting only when users pass | Compromise between energy sobriety and safety |
| Hypervision and data analysis | Single platform cross-referencing programming, consumption and alerts | Identification of drifts and over-consuming luminaires | Multi-business management across the territory |
| Failure detection | Automatic reporting of faults, untimely switch-ons and switch-offs | Fast identification of luminaires left on during the day | Planned interventions and a more reliable lighting stock |
Several schemes can fund these projects: energy savings certificates (CEE), aid from regions and energy syndicates, and certain European funds. The Fonds vert (Green Fund) supported the renovation of public lighting stocks in 2023 and 2024, but this specific measure has been closed since 2025. It is therefore best to check which schemes are available when submitting an application, with the help of your energy syndicate.
To succeed with your project, it is best to start with a pilot in a representative neighbourhood, with a quantified objective, before gradually extending the roll-out. This approach makes it possible to validate network coverage, train staff and demonstrate the gains to elected officials.
How does Kuzzle support connected and sustainable territories?
Kuzzle provides local authorities with a sovereign, vendor-agnostic platform to control smart public lighting, whatever the equipment and connectivity already deployed. The goal: reduce electricity consumption without degrading the quality of service provided to residents.
A single hypervision for a heterogeneous lighting stock
The Kuzzle urban hypervisor centralises control of all cabinets and luminaires, even when they come from different manufacturers and communicate via LoRaWAN, radio mesh or cellular networks, with or without the TALQ v2 protocol. This interoperability prevents the local authority from being locked into a single manufacturer's ecosystem. Data is reported through Kuzzle IoT, the connected device management platform, designed to process large volumes of data with very fine granularity.
Measurable savings at every control level
- Cabinet-level control: programming, dimming and switch-on/switch-off commands for one or more streets. Thanks to failure detection, Kuzzle observes a 40% reduction in trips related to programming and maintenance.
- Light-point control: dimming adapted to real-time mobility, with detection of vehicles, two-wheelers and pedestrians, and specific scenarios for 30 km/h zones, cycle paths or parks.
- Lighting adapted to mobility flows: cross-referencing footfall data with the dimming of each light point, taking into account the halo effect and the specific features of each route.
- Scenographic lighting: heritage illuminations coordinated with the events calendar (colours, gradients, twinkling effects), with no on-site intervention.
Programming that reflects local realities
School holidays, clock changes, events calendars, the specific needs of each neighbourhood or street: the platform handles all these subtleties, including in intermunicipal or departmental pooling arrangements. By cross-referencing programming with energy consumption monitoring, technical departments can more easily find the balance between the expected lighting level and operational savings. Alerts can be linked to existing business tools, such as the CMMS or GIS, to speed up interventions.
A territorial approach to the smart city
Public lighting is only one building block of Kuzzle's smart city IoT platform. The same hypervision can also handle air quality, waste management, parking or building energy management. Alès Agglomération, for example, relies on a territorial hypervision platform to monitor air quality and its energy consumption in real time. Local authorities such as the Nièvre, the Val-d'Oise and Alès Agglomération also trust Kuzzle.
Each project starts with a scoping of use cases and field constraints, then moves from pilot to scale-up. To assess the savings potential of your lighting stock, request a demo of the Kuzzle platform.
FAQ on smart public lighting
What is smart public lighting?
Smart public lighting refers to a network of luminaires fitted with connected controllers, and sometimes sensors, controlled remotely from a platform. It automatically adjusts schedules and light intensity according to actual needs, detects failures and measures consumption.
How much can a municipality save on public lighting with IoT?
Gains depend on the condition of the lighting stock. According to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, a renovation can reduce consumption by 50 to 75%, and night-time switch-off or dimming add a reduction proportional to the hours reduced. On the operational side, Kuzzle observes a 40% reduction in trips related to programming and maintenance, thanks to failure detection with cabinet-level remote management.
Is a municipality required to switch off its public lighting at night?
No. The order of 27 December 2018 does not set any switch-off period for road lighting. The decision lies with the mayor, under article L. 2212-2 of the General Local Authorities Code, and is formalised by a municipal order.
What are the technical obligations of the order of 27 December 2018?
For roads, the order notably requires a ULR below 1% for the luminaire and 4% once installed, a colour temperature of no more than 3,000 K and a DSFLI capped at 35 lm/m² in built-up areas. Luminaires with a ULR above 50% had to be replaced by 1 January 2025 at the latest.
Is switching off public lighting compatible with residents' safety?
Yes, provided it is adapted to usage. Adaptive lighting switches luminaires back on as pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles pass, and remote management enables emergency switch-on from a distance in the event of an accident or an emergency intervention.
What is the difference between cabinet-level and light-point remote management?
Cabinet-level remote management controls a group of luminaires connected to the same electrical cabinet, usually one or more streets. Light-point control commands each streetlight individually, enabling finer dimming and streetlight-by-streetlight presence detection.
How can a smart public lighting project be funded?
Local authorities can mobilise energy savings certificates (CEE), regional aid, European funds and support from energy syndicates. The Fonds vert measure dedicated to public lighting, active in 2023 and 2024, has not been renewed since 2025. In terms of profitability, ADEME puts the return on investment for lighting at between 3 and 5 years in favourable cases.
Why choose a vendor-agnostic IoT platform for public lighting?
Lighting stocks often combine controllers of different brands and connectivity types. A vendor-agnostic platform such as Kuzzle Hypervision controls the whole stock from a single tool, avoids dependence on a manufacturer and makes it possible to extend hypervision to other smart city uses.
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