Schréder Swiss wins the Watt d’Or energy prize

The Watt d’Or prize is awarded annually by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy to recognise five outstanding energy projects that benefit to society. The objective is to highlight extraordinary achievements in the energy sector, and by doing so, to motivate business, politicians, and the public to explore the advantages of innovative energy technologies. The 2017 competition received 71 submissions, a demonstration of how innovation is thriving.

The future of energy efficient lighting

At the prize ceremony, which took place in Berne on January 11th, Schréder Swiss won the award for the Energy Technology category in collaboration with the Zurich utility company (EZK). Together, they installed a new lighting system that embodies smart lighting by ensuring the safety of residents all the while protecting local wildlife and reducing energy consumption.
Even though lighting systems incorporating motion detection sensors already exist, EZK wanted a solution that would adapt lighting levels based off the traffic density. With Schréder, they decided to carry out a one-year pilot project over a 1-kilometre stretch on a main road in the town of Urdorf.

A luminaire was fitted with an optical sensor that captures data regarding traffic density and sent to a control system. The data was subsequently converted into orders for the 27 luminaires that can be piloted individually. The light was constantly adapted in a subtle and progressive manner so that it was imperceptible and did not hinder motorists or residents. Depending on traffic density, the lighting levels vary between 40% and 100%.

The local council and residents hailed the project a success a year after its launch: energy savings amounted to over 30%. Indeed, the lighting was only on at full capacity for one hour in the morning and three in the evening.

VolumLight

Following the pilot exercise, Schréder collaborated with Sixsq to commercialise this advanced lighting system, now called VolumLight.

It integrates state-of-the-art technology from EdgeComputing and PrivateCloud to help cities create the foundation for a smart city. In addition to generating energy savings of up to 70%, this open-architecture platform can share data and functions with other systems.

Schréder is proud to have already installed this new system for three projects in the canton of Basel in 2017 and to have won this prestigious prize!