Fulda (dpa/lhe) - The state of Hesse is supporting the city of Fulda with three million euros in the implementation of a model project "Smart Infrastructure Street Lighting". Department head Susanne Ruth from the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs handed over a corresponding notification of funding to the Mayor of Fulda, Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU). The LED lights not only consumed a fraction of the energy compared to conventional street lamps, but could also be better controlled and networked, the ministry explained. A Fulda city spokesman added that the project primarily envisages smart networking of the lights with traffic detection and control.

Sensor technology will probably be used, as is already the case with the so-called moving light on a footpath and cycle path in the Fulda-Aue. There it is about needs-based and at the same time insect-friendly night-time lighting in a sensitive area. In the new model project, the sensors should be used primarily on larger roads, where the street lighting can be adapted to the situation using the data from the traffic computer. Conversely, sensor data from the street lamps could be used to guide and control traffic, for example using electronic display boards. Around 850 light points and a total of around 25 kilometers of roads in the entire city of Fulda are affected.

The model project is expected to run for around two years. "The conversion of street lighting to sensibly used LED technology, which we, as Germany's first star city, have been promoting for many years, is given an additional boost with the project," explained Fulda's Mayor Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU). According to the city spokesman, the project is estimated to cost a good 3.3 million euros.