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LichtWART: Let There Be Light – Sustainable Light

The startup LichtWART’s IoT solution ensures that illuminated advertising and outdoor lighting always shine with the right intensity and malfunctions are spotted at an early stage.

Installation of the logos at Karlsruhe’s Wildpark Stadium © Declaro GmbH

In brief

  • Innovative IoT Solution for Illuminated Advertising: The start-up LichtWART leverages IoT technology to optimize the maintenance and control of illuminated advertising systems by detecting LED failures at an early stage and automatically initiating repair processes.
  • Increased Efficiency and Cost Reduction: Through smart networking and automated monitoring, downtime is minimized, maintenance efforts are reduced, and the energy efficiency of the systems is significantly improved.
  • Practical Example – Wildpark Stadium: The implementation at Wildpark Stadium in Karlsruhe demonstrates the real-world applicability and added value of the solution for operators of large advertising installations and event venues.

IoT for smart and reliable illuminated advertising

Karlsruher SC has arrived in the Bundesliga – at least when it comes to sustainability. With the new exterior lighting of the Wildpark Stadium, KSC is already meeting the requirements of the German Football League’s (DFL) new sustainability guidelines. These guidelines define various sustainability criteria that will, in the future, play a role in determining whether a club can compete in Germany’s top two divisions.

Declaro, a company from Gütersloh specializing in stadium advertising, has recognized the market shift. With growing demand for digitalization and sustainability in professional sports, declaro chose to rely on the dynamic lighting control system of the Herford-based start-up LichtWART for this pilot project. Both the XXL logos of the stadium and its sponsor, as well as the more than 600-meter-long blue light contour encircling the “Wildpark” arena, are now connected via the Internet of Things (IoT). The illuminated advertising installations can be monitored via the cloud and adjusted on demand: brightness automatically adapts to the ambient light. This saves energy and electricity costs while extending the lifetime of the LEDs.

“Thanks to these highly efficient advertising installations and cloud-based control, our customer is perfectly equipped for the future,” says Joschka Amtenbrink, responsible at declaro for the technical development of the advertising systems. “For this project, we had to comply with strict regulatory requirements regarding seasonal lighting. Without a cloud-based solution, reprogramming all the installations would have been an enormous effort.”

Illuminated advertising system from HanseMerkus in Hamburg's Dammtor Station

Retrofit in Order to Look Ahead

LichtWART also equipped HanseMerkur’s striking illuminated advertising at Dammtor Station in Hamburg with an IoT module – and did so retroactively. Thanks to automatic demand-oriented adjustment of light intensity the retrofit used 35 percent less electricity in the first ten months (about 6,000 hours) of operation. The system also reports malfunctions automatically and can switch itself off if a letter in the sponsor’s or the stadium’s name fails – in the interest of trademark or brand protection.

From the gas station via fast food chains to the movie theater, we see illuminated advertising daily on the freeway, in industrial areas or downtown. If you want to prevent your billboard from being switched off you must comply with strict light pollution requirements such as maximum light intensities or prevention of nondirectional radiation to protect local residents, including birds and insects, Illuminated billboards are designed to be in use for decades and many have been operational for a long time. Maintenance and repair of what is often still analog technology can prove expensive. As a rule, billboards have a timer and a dimmer, so monitoring, cleaning, repairs and adjustments can only be undertaken on-site manually. Defects and malfunctions often long go unnoticed.

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“It really becomes problematic when a failed illuminated sign harms the customer’s image. For example, if LEDs fail, a drugstore sign might suddenly just read Drug, or  KAFFE (coffee) could turn into AFFE (monkey). The consequences of such failures can even include revenue losses—for instance, when travelers on the highway miss the sign on a service station tower because it’s not properly visible.”

Gregor Giataganas, LichtWART-Founder

SME Invests in Digitization of Illuminated Advertising

LichtWART aims to end all that by, for example, retrofitting analog facilities without major installation input, followed by remote maintenance and timely repairs – all based on the IoT. In 2020 LichtWART was founded as a subsidiary of Bertelmann, an SME that has designed, erected and regularly maintains around 2,000 illuminated advertising facilities all over Germany. In founding LichtWART the company seeks to remain futureproof by investing in the digitization of illuminated advertising. Bertelmann chose Tekekom as its digitization expert and partner. Telekom implements the digital networking of LichtWART solutions. Telekom’s IoT Cloud plays a decisive role by providing the light management platform.

Lights on the pier and along the jetties in the Priwall marina near Travemünde

Reliable Lighting for Safety’s Sake

There are safety aspects to outdoor lighting.  Well-lit entrances, siairs or sidewalks help make trip hazards and obstacles easier to recognize. Adequate lighting on parking lots and in underground garages reduces the risk of theft and vandalism. Appropriate lighting in parks and public places helps to prevent crime and enables people to move around more safely in the evening, while good lighting is indispensable in commercial and industrial surroundings to prevent occupational accidents and ensure employee safety.

Take, for example, Priwall marina near Travemünde. Three hundred lights along the pier and the jetties provide the harbormaster with enough light for his nocturnal control rounds. If a light fails, the LichtWART system notifies the operator automatically. Telekom supplied certified hardware, connectivity, SIM cards and, customized for LichtWART, a dashboard in its IoT Cloud. An external Lübeck Port Authority surveyor certified the overall system safety.

Illuminated advertising installations at a location of the battery manufacturer VARTA

Predictive Maintenance: Repairs Without Delays

The Berliner Bogen in Hamburg was more a matter of appearances.  Across a distance of 140 meters the building spans a kilometer-long flood basin. An architectural highlight, it is an eyecatcher, especially at night. Three lighting systems make the entrance area, nearly 40 meters tall, shine brilliantly. The operator monitors the lighting remotely and with ease – thanks to the LichtWART module – by PC, smartphone or tablet. Repairs are carried out swiftly. The technician knows what the fault is before he sets out, so he can take the right spare part or parts with him.

“Managing and maintaining the three lighting systems is now much simpler, and if an outage occurs the repair is activated automatically without delay, with low process costs and low personnel input,” says Dennis Peizert, managing director of Hanselicht, the manufacturer of the Berliner Bogen facility during the project. The energy consumption tells a convincing tale: rhe smart solution cuts energy costs by up to 40 percent.

LichtWART has since fitted out all 13 locations of battery maker VARTA with new illuminated advertising systems. “The technology enables us to manage our illuminated advertising as optimally as possible and helps us to reduce maintenance and running costs,” says Fabian Stock, Head of Corporate Development. “Lighting malfunctions are also reported directly to the logo supplier so the problem can be solved without delay. The reduction in light pollution by intelligent control was another convincing argument for us.”
 

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Potrait photo Annalena Rauen

Annalena Rauen

Marketing Manager IoT

Back in 2016, Anna worked on IoT topics at Deutsche Telekom for the first time. Since then, she has been supporting customer best practices in a wide range of industries – always focusing on the benefits that the Internet of Things can provide. Her IoT blogposts describe real use cases and the value these innovations add to market players, their business models, and even entire industries.

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