The project aim is to examine further ways to reduce the amount of energy consumed by street lighting using tailored design techniques and the application of energy saving products across a range of highway scenarios whilst examining the effects that this has on crime / accident statistics. citizen’s perceptions and socio economic impacts. Philips Lighting have estimated that if the 33% of street lighting in Europe lit using traditional methods were replaced. energy consumption savings of up to 40% could be achieved. The GreenSwitch factbook (June 07) identifies potential savings in the sector to be 20-30 terrawatt hours. equating to 5-10 million tons carbon dioxide emissions. which is equivalent to 20-45 million barrels of oil or 10-15 medium sized power plants. There have been a number of small focussed initiatives. which have identified some of the potential benefits and it is the intention of this project to build on these targeted initiatives The benefits of a broad spectrum of existing energy reduction techniques including the use of energy saving lamps. varying switching times. dynamic lighting control and the application of variable lighting levels when circumstances dictate will be reviewed across the project partnership. There is an almost universal preconception by citizens that “better” street lighting means increased illumination to prevent crime. social disorder and traffic accidents and it is expected that there may be possible concern to some of the techniques to be applied. The project seeks. therefore to examine. challenge and understand citizens’ beliefs and preconceptions with the aim of enabling street lighting authorities to neutralise potential antagonism Achievements: The BLISS project illustrates how the deployment of different exterior lighting approaches and techniques can achieve energy savings of between 40% and 80% without widely impacting on stakeholder confidence. Overall the project achieved an annual estimated energy saving of 46%, equating to 388 tonnes of CO2 emissions.Stakeholder research has confirmed that energy efficient public lighting can be provided which can improve users’ perception of safety and comfort as well as allowing safe movement of pedestrians and cyclists at night.Approaches ranged from simple, low cost lamp and control gear replacement with a short term 5 year payback period, realising a 40% energy saving, to the installation of a SMART City fibre optic backbone offering a multitude of potential benefits and wide ranging energy savings of between 61% and 87% dependent on the particular mode of use. BLISS has challenged existing constraints, exploring the additional value that effective and dynamic adaptive road lighting can add to an area in terms of the wealth, health and wellbeing of the wider community. The BLISS final guide uses examples to illustrate the outcomes of the project which are now proven and are applicable to the rest of Europe: - The ability to reduce the energy consumption of public lighting through simple low cost retro fitting techniques and the use of intelligent dynamic lighting control- How BLISS has been able to negate anti-social behaviour through the use of coloured lighting whilst at the same time putting energy back into the supply grid- The results of research into the immediate future of solid state dynamic lighting and the potential for this to contribute to the development of a connected SMART city approach- How BLISS has encouraged energy suppliers to make a paradigm shift towards providing what citizens actually want The BLISS partners used their experiences and results to influence local and regional policies and to secure future funding for energy saving initiatives. St.Helens embarked on a € 2.1 million lighting project, Eindhoven opened a tender for urban public lighting, Interleuven used experiences to influence municipal climate plans, and Kaiserslautern secured funding of € 2.5 million for a retro-fit lighting project.BLISS demonstrates that significant energy savings can be made by selecting the appropriate lighting and control and that reduced energy consumption can be achieved without causing adverse impacts on crime or accidents whilst still satisfying citizen and stakeholder expectations. Documents:- Guide for municipalities: How to reduce energy in public lighting and gain the support of citizens - File Download