Public lighting weighs heavily on local authority budgets: it accounts for 16% of municipalities' total energy consumption, 41% of their electricity consumption and 37% of their electricity bill, across a stock of around 9 million light points in France (Banque des Territoires). Faced with rising energy prices, energy sobriety targets and regulations on light pollution, local authorities are looking to light better, at the right time and at the right level.
By connecting each luminaire to sensors and an IoT platform, it becomes possible to control lighting remotely, adapt it to the actual presence of users and detect failures in real time.
For connected and sustainable territories, the stakes go beyond simply cutting the bill. The goal is to build an open, interoperable and sovereign infrastructure that can aggregate field data to support better decisions. This is precisely Kuzzle's positioning as a French publisher of IoT, Data and Hypervision solutions for smart cities and smart buildings.
Contents
- What are the benefits of IoT-based smart public lighting?
- Which IoT solutions for your public lighting?
- What are some examples of smart public lighting with Kuzzle?
- How do you implement a smart public lighting project?
- What do regulations say about public lighting?
- FAQ on smart public lighting
What are the benefits of IoT-based smart public lighting?
Smart public lighting combines controllable LED luminaires, connected sensors and an IoT platform that centralises the data. This trio turns a passive expense into urban infrastructure driven by data.
Reducing energy consumption and the energy bill
According to the French Ministry for Ecological Transition, renovating a lighting stock can cut its consumption by 50 to 75%. IoT connectivity goes further: dimming according to the time of day, switch-off in the middle of the night, switch-on upon presence detection. On the project carried out with Kawantech and Kuzzle IoT, the Kara sensor cuts the consumption of LED streetlights by a factor of three, i.e. up to 67% energy savings.
Optimising maintenance and interventions
Each light point reports its status in real time. Failures are detected automatically, geolocated and sent to the teams. Teams plan their interventions more efficiently: thanks to failure detection with cabinet-level remote management, Kuzzle observes a 40% reduction in trips related to programming and maintenance.
Limiting light pollution and preserving biodiversity
Adjusting intensity, colour temperature and schedules makes it possible to respect dark corridors (trame noire), protect nocturnal wildlife and comply with light pollution regulations.
Improving user safety and comfort
Adaptive lighting responds to the actual flows of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. Light is there when users need it, at the level required by the road and the activity.
Making the streetlight the foundation of the smart city
The lighting network covers the entire territory and has a power supply. It naturally hosts other sensors: air quality, noise, counting, parking, EV charging points or small 5G antennas. An open IoT platform aggregates this data to feed a cross-functional view of the connected territory.
Which IoT solutions for your public lighting?
There is no single model for smart public lighting. The right choice depends on the condition of the lighting stock, the desired level of granularity and the connectivity available locally.
Cabinet-level or light-point control?
- Cabinet-level control: an astronomical clock or a connected controller commands a group of luminaires. This is the fastest option to deploy for programming night-time switch-offs.
- Light-point control: each streetlight has its own controller (DALI D4i LED driver, Zhaga socket) and can be dimmed, switched off or diagnosed individually.
- Detection-based adaptive lighting: presence or shape-recognition sensors, such as the Kawantech Kara sensor, adjust the light to actual road use.
Which communication networks should you choose?
Low-power wide-area networks (LoRaWAN), radio mesh and cellular connectivity (2G, 3G, 4G, LTE-M) often coexist in the same territory. The TALQ v2 protocol and the Zhaga and D4i standards ensure interoperability between luminaires, controllers and central software, regardless of the manufacturer. Messaging protocols such as MQTT then route the data to the platform.
Why does an open IoT platform make the difference?
The software platform is the brain of smart public lighting. The Kuzzle smart public lighting solution relies on three complementary building blocks.
| Kuzzle product | Role | Benefits for public lighting |
|---|---|---|
| Kuzzle IoT | Connected device management | Multi-equipment and multi-connectivity interoperability (TALQ v2, LoRaWAN, radio mesh, cellular), failure detection and automatic alerts |
| Kuzzle Hypervision | Multi-business supervision and control | Cabinet-level or light-point control, scenarios (dimming, colours, schedules), event calendars, fine-grained management of rights and profiles |
| Kuzzle Data | Open source data processing | Large-scale IoT data analysis, energy consumption monitoring, cross-referencing with other smart city data |
This open source architecture avoids proprietary lock-in. The local authority retains control of its data, can change luminaire manufacturer and can add new use cases (buildings, mobility, networks) on the same smart city IoT platform.
What are some examples of smart public lighting with Kuzzle?
Kawantech and the Tarn Energy Syndicate (SDET): 67% energy savings
Together with Toulouse-based company Kawantech, Kuzzle supports Territoire d'Énergie du Tarn in the remote supervision and control of its smart public lighting. Streetlights are fitted with the Kara sensor, which interprets how the public road is being used and adapts the light in real time, and with DALI D4i LED drivers for fine control of the stock. The equipment, compliant with the open Zhaga and D4i standards, communicates via LoRa and MQTT with Kuzzle IoT, Kuzzle Device Manager and Kuzzle Dashboard Builder.
From the platform, teams can:
- switch public lighting on or off remotely;
- define intensity rules according to times and periods;
- receive an alert in the event of a malfunction;
- view streetlights in real time on a map;
- create custom dashboards.
Result: up to 67% energy savings, i.e. consumption divided by three.
How do you implement a smart public lighting project?
A successful project moves forward in stages, from assessing the lighting stock to deploying new smart city uses. The table below summarises the typical approach for a local authority or an energy syndicate.
| Step | Objectives | Key actions | Stakeholders | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Lighting stock assessment | Understand the existing installation and its consumption | Geolocated inventory of light points and cabinets, survey of technologies (sodium, LED), compliance audit against the order of 27 December 2018 | Local authority, energy syndicate, engineering consultancy | Map of the lighting stock, energy assessment |
| 2. Defining needs | Set energy, safety and environmental objectives | Road zoning, switch-off or dimming periods, dark corridors, future smart city use cases | Elected officials, technical departments, users | Lighting master plan (SDAL) |
| 3. Choosing the IoT architecture | Guarantee interoperability and long-term durability | Selection of controllers (Zhaga, D4i), sensors, networks (LoRaWAN, cellular, mesh) and an open IoT platform | IT department, integrator, platform publisher | Technical specifications |
| 4. Funding and public procurement | Secure the budget | Mobilising energy savings certificates (CEE, sheet RES-EC-104), support from energy syndicates and regions, choice of contractual set-up (global performance contract, energy performance contract) | Local authority, public buyers | Funding plan, tender documents |
| 5. Pilot | Validate the solution in the field | Deployment in one neighbourhood or municipality, measurement of savings, user feedback | Integrator, technical departments | Pilot report, performance indicators |
| 6. Roll-out | Extend to the whole territory | Replacement or retrofit of luminaires, connection to the platform, configuration of scenarios | Installers, integrator | Connected and supervised lighting stock |
| 7. Operation and evolution | Optimise over time | Consumption monitoring, preventive maintenance, additional sensors (air, noise, parking), multi-business hypervision | Operator, technical departments | Dashboards, energy reports |
The pilot is the decisive step: it measures real gains before committing to the overall investment. A platform such as Kuzzle IoT makes it possible to start on a limited scope and then scale up without changing tools.
What do regulations say about public lighting?
Energy savings certificates (CEE) fund the renovation of outdoor lighting through standardised sheet RES-EC-104, applicable to operations committed before 1 January 2030. Local authorities can also apply to the support programmes of their departmental energy syndicate and to regional aid schemes. The Fonds vert (Green Fund) measure dedicated to public lighting, active in 2023 and 2024, has not been renewed since 2025.
Which texts govern light pollution?
- French Environmental Code, articles L583-1 to L583-5: derived from the 2010 Grenelle II law, they establish the principle of preventing, reducing and limiting light pollution. Their implementing rules are set out in articles R583-1 to R583-7.
- Order of 27 December 2018 on the prevention, reduction and limitation of light pollution: it sets the technical requirements applicable to outdoor lighting, including road lighting. In particular, it limits colour temperature to 3,000 K, restricts the proportion of light emitted above the horizontal, caps the surface density of luminous flux and sets switch-off times for certain lighting categories (heritage illumination, parks and gardens). The luminaires emitting the most light towards the sky, such as globe luminaires, had to be brought into compliance by 1 January 2025. It was amended by the order of 24 December 2019.
- Decree No. 2022-1294 of 5 October 2022: it harmonises the switch-off of illuminated advertising between 1 am and 6 am. It does not cover public lighting, but forms part of the same national energy sobriety plan.
Who decides to switch off public lighting?
The mayor. Under article L2212-2 of the French General Local Authorities Code (CGCT), municipal police powers notably cover the lighting of public roads. The mayor can therefore decide, by order, on partial switch-off or night-time dimming, provided user safety is ensured. An IoT platform makes it easier to apply and trace these decisions.
Which European obligations apply?
- Directive (EU) 2023/1791 on energy efficiency: it requires public bodies to reduce their final energy consumption by 1.9% per year.
- Regulation (EU) 2019/2020 on the ecodesign of light sources: it gradually removes the least efficient technologies from the market and accelerates the transition to LEDs.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): sensors installed in public space must limit collection to strictly necessary data. Sensors that analyse movement benefit from processing information locally and transmitting only anonymised data, such as a count or a user category. Choosing an open source platform, deployable on infrastructure controlled by the local authority, makes compliance easier.
Which financial aid can be mobilised?
Energy savings certificates fund the renovation of outdoor lighting through standardised sheet RES-EC-104. Local authorities can also apply to the support programmes of their departmental energy syndicate.
FAQ on smart public lighting
What is smart public lighting?
Smart public lighting is a network of LED luminaires connected to an IoT platform. It makes it possible to remotely control the switching on, switching off and intensity of each light point, to detect failures and to adapt the light to the actual presence of users.
What energy savings can connected public lighting deliver?
Switching to LEDs reduces consumption by 30 to 60%. Combined with presence detection and dimming controlled by an IoT platform, savings can reach 67%, as on the Kawantech and Kuzzle project.
What is the difference between cabinet-level and light-point control?
Cabinet-level control commands a group of luminaires from the electrical cabinet. Light-point control commands each streetlight individually thanks to a communicating driver, enabling finer dimming and diagnostics.
Which IoT protocols should be used for public lighting?
The most common are LoRaWAN, radio mesh and cellular networks. The TALQ v2 protocol and the Zhaga and D4i standards ensure interoperability between luminaires, controllers and the management platform.
Can a municipality switch off its public lighting at night?
Yes. The mayor can decide on night-time switch-off or dimming by municipal order, under the police powers defined in article L2212-2 of the CGCT, while guaranteeing user safety.
Why is public lighting a pillar of the smart city?
The lighting network covers the whole territory and has a permanent power supply. It can easily host air quality, noise, counting or parking sensors, whose data is centralised by a smart city IoT platform such as Kuzzle.
How can a smart public lighting project be funded?
Local authorities can mobilise energy savings certificates (sheet RES-EC-104), support from energy syndicates and regions, or a global performance contract that pays the service provider based on the savings achieved.
