Smart lighting specialist Signify is helping the city of Davos, in Switzerland, in achieving its sustainability goals as it upgrades both Davos’ streetlights and the lighting of the city’s Congress Center to energy-efficient LEDs, the firm said in a release.
This week, Davos will host business and political leaders from around the world during the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“Signify is a regular participant in the World Economic Forum at the Congress Center here in Davos for many years. That is why they came to us and helped us realize how much of an improvement the switch to LEDs would be. Both upgrades are a major step in our ambitions to answer the global call for sustainable measures,” said Tarzisius Caviezel, mayor of Davos.
In Davos’ streets, Signify and its local partner Elektron have so far replaced 500 of the 1,000 streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs and connected 250 of those to its Interact City cloud-based, wireless connected lighting system, saving 72,300 kWH in energy per year. Interact City enables remote management of the streetlighting infrastructure, Signify said, allowing an easy overview of even a large number of lights. The city plans to complete the installation in five to ten years.
During the refurbishment of the Congress Center, Signify upgraded almost 900 lights, enabling the city, which owns the facility, to save an additional 50,000 kWh in energy per year. The entire light control system was replaced and prepared for future needs according to the Congress Center’s requirements while remaining fully compatible with the current building management system, Signify said.
“We’re very happy that the city that hosts the world’s leaders every year is taking such a major step forward. It’s encouraging to see this next move, but the world leaders that are gathered here this week should take note and realize that much more needs to be done if we want to achieve a carbon neutral world by 2050 at the very latest. This really needs to be the tipping point as we enter the decade of climate action and start our race to the future,” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify.
In related news, Signify said it intends to adapt its organizational structure to enable a stronger customer focus and enhanced specialization. Signify intends to move to three divisions from the current four business groups. The three divisions are as follows:
-Division Digital Solutions (formerly BG Professional) offers LED products, systems and services for the Internet of Things to customers in the professional segment.
-Division Digital Products (combines BG LED and BG Home). This division offers LED electronics, LED lamps, LED luminaires and connected products, including Hue and Wiz, to consumers, professional customers and OEM partners.
-Division Conventional Products continues to focus on conventional lamps and electronics for consumers and customers in the professional segment.
Signify said that the changes are expected to take effect in the second quarter of 2020.
