Result description
Lampposts are no longer only a source of light, but have become multifunctional, smart or “Humble Lampposts”, which can also be used to provide electrical charging points and act as WiFi hotspots. Using existing lampposts in this way, provides operational savings, delivers better services to citizens and offers the potential for additional revenue for cities.
In Cologne, the industry partner RheinEnergie installed three electric charging stations to existing lampposts in the “Klimastraße”, which is part of the initiative SmartCity Cologne where RheinEnergie tests innovative technologies. The lampposts had already been fitted out with a Wi-Fi hotspots.
Rhein Energie owns and operates the lampposts used in GrowSmarter and was able to implement the charging stations without major difficulties once a suitable location was found. The charging stations have a maximum charging capacity of 11kW
Lessons learnt
In cases such as Cologne, where city furniture such as street lampposts belong to the same company that installs the charging stations, implementation of this solution is not particularly difficult. New manufacturers can pose some solvable challenges such as connections to the lanterns and technical problems with the back-end connections.
Finding suitable locations is not easy and many different parameters must be considered, such as ownership or the network situation on site. On a technical level, it is important, that the space in the lantern cavities is sufficient to allow the cable installation.
In addition, the lantern structure must be strong enough to withstand the additional load from the charging station.
Upscaling & replication potential
An essential precondition for successful implementation was the advantage that the lanterns belonged to RheinEnergie and this facilitated the entire installation process. In other cities this may not be the case and the installation process could therefore be more costly and less feasible.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- We are sharing our knowledge
- Others/ No specific audience
- Other Actors who can help us fulfil our market potential
Result submitted to Horizon Results Platform by RHEINENERGIE
