Villandro/Villanders: a town adorned with smart light
The Mayor of Villandro/Villanders in South Tyrol, Northern Italy, spearheaded a project with a perfect mix of ingredients to create a cutting-edge smart lighting concept, comprising ewo products and connexx smart lighting technology, with lighting design from Studio Troi und Schenk and Karl Heinz Troi.
Mayor Walter Baumgartner is all about future-oriented solutions for the village of Villandro/Villanders and its citizens. Luckily, ewo CEO Hannes Wohlgemuth shares that very philosophy: “Light should only ever be used exactly where it’s needed and wanted.” The Mayor quickly recognised the potential to save energy up to 45% with 130 handmade pole and wall-mounted luminaires. Equipped with roughly the same number of connexx smart nodes, the system allows luminaires to communicate and react to their surroundings in an overall space of more than 4 km².
Luminaire grouping creates system flexibility allowing lighting to be managed and dimmed manually, illuminate squares, roads and streets in any manner required. In addition, software programming responds to changing needs, such as Christmas lighting in winter or one-off events.
Every day, ewo strives to optimise the strategic, targeted and purposeful use of light – and takes it to the next level alongside connexx, a start-up that develops smart modules to be used specifically for certain moods and settings.
Mayor Walter Baumgartner said: “One of the features that convinced me instantly was the possibility of attaching power sources at any point within the lighting system, which allows us to connect and manage other devices and systems – from temperature or speed sensors all the way to Christmas lights. An intelligent lighting system means you can use infrastructure in a way that reduces consumption and offers additional services to our citizens. And the positive reactions from the public have shown that opting for a smart concept was the right choice.”
ewo CEO Hannes Wohlgemuth: “For years, we have been devoting a great deal of time and resources to developing and networking intelligent lighting systems, because we are convinced that it is where the future of lighting lies. Networked systems that are able to react within seconds can and should be used to improve our quality of life and the well-being of people in public spaces.”
Michael Hofer, Business Development expert at connexx, agrees:
“For projects like this, our developers have introduced a technology based on mesh Wi-Fi systems to ensure particularly swift communication between two luminaires. This means impressively short reaction times, which distinctively sets us apart from other manufacturers. We are proud of this project, which also happens to be a first in South Tyrol.”
Client: Comune di Villandro
Smart lighting: connexx
Lighting design: Studio Troi und Schenk
Product: F-System XS
Completion: 2020
Image ©: Oskar Da Riz