Technology helps improve Al Ain lighting network

Mona El Badawy, Staff Reporter

The modern technology methods applied by Al Ain City Municipality have contributed to raising and improving the efficiency of the city's lighting network, and to reducing the manpower, according to Head of the Lighting Networks Department, Engineer Abdullah Sultan Darei, Al Ain City Municipality.   

Al Darei added that the Central Control Unit specialised in monitoring and controlling road lighting wirelessly linked the road lighting network in Al Ain city by 99 per cent.

The Unit also organised the switching on and off, resulting in a saving of energy and financial resources by approximately 6 per cent.

The Unit is linked to approximately 2810 control panels in the city to monitor the lighting network, determine maintenance priorities, identify broken posts at day time, identify some spare parts the technician may need before heading to the site, and evaluate the life span of each piece to be replaced, added Al Darei.   

He indicated that the city’s lighting network will be programmed on main, urban and internal roads for the next 10 years, and the operating time begins 5 minutes after sunset on main roads, 7 minutes on urban roads, and 15 minutes on internal roads, while the switching off will be 12 minutes before sunrise on main and urban roads, and 15 minutes on the internal roads.