Insights
How Queensland reduced its energy cost by 30%
In Queensland, there’s more to street lighting than meets the eye. In partnership with Quantela, UST’s product engineering expertise has underpinned Australia’s largest smart street lighting deployment – and the impact is set to transform the region’s cities for more than 5 million people who live there.
The story
UST provided vital product engineering expertise, partnering with Quantela and Schréder to bring Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads’ (QDTMR) vision to life.
With growing populations and rapid urbanisation, communities around the world are grappling with familiar challenges. Cities need to get smarter, harnessing transformative technology to become more liveable, sustainable, and self-reliant. Smart lighting is a key component of this shift, with ripple effects that reach far and wide.
UST’s product engineering expertise underpins every part of Queensland’s lighting control system, from the physical hardware to the software and city-wide control system.
The impact is palpable. Engineers can control the light system virtually, spotting outages in near-real time. They can monitor the energy consumed, choosing to dim the lights when traffic or footfall is low to reduce Co2 emissions, or brighten them in high-risk scenarios to reduce accidents. Overall improvements to the infrastructure mean the region’s power supply is more secure.
The technology
UST helped Quantela deliver improved public safety and 20–30% lower energy costs. Upgrading 35,000 streetlights to deliver a smart street lighting philosophy was no mean feat — and it was a truly collaborative venture.
UST worked with Quantela and Schréder on the new street light controllers’ hardware design, firmware, supply chain, software development and support, and we created the software platform to handle the networks’ near-real-time data.
- UST engineers validated that Quantela’s LightingGale hardware, firmware, and CMS met the rigorous certification requirements of the Telstra telecommunications network.
- We recommended narrowband internet of things technology to transmit data in a low-power mode on both LTE and 5G networks, which ensured real-time connectivity for streetlights in remote and urban locations.
- We enhanced Quantela’s iSLC3100-N controller and the associated firmware to fit on top or underneath existing light fixtures.
- We implemented a multitenancy feature so different localities can cluster and control streetlights based on their specific needs without impacting the master streetlight grid.