Karlstad manages a large lighting estate with a clear ambition to reduce energy consumption, modernise infrastructure, and improve operational efficiency. As the city transition from conventional lighting to LED and connected control, it also recognised that public lighting needed to support a wider range of objectives than illumination alone.
Different locations across the city presented different requirements. Pedestrian passages needed to enhance safety and comfort; environmentally sensitive areas required lighting that minimised disturbance to wildlife, and maintenance teams needed better visibility into asset status to improve operational efficiency.
The challenge was to establish a lighting infrastructure that could support these diverse needs while providing a consistent foundation for energy reduction, standardisation, and future development.
Working with Capelon, Karlstad implemented GreenStreet public lighting control across its municipal lighting infrastructure. Together, they established a control structure that combines cabinet control and monitoring, connected lighting infrastructure, and operational insight within a unified management environment.
The solution integrates cabinet-level control for overall operational visibility, remote management, and switching with individual lighting control that enables higher precision in areas with specific requirements.
This flexibility allows lighting behavior to be adapted to the purpose of each environment. In Vikenpassagen, a passage connecting the city center with southern districts and the train platforms, lighting is adjusted in relation to surrounding daylight conditions. This create a safer and more comfortable passage while reducing excessive contrast and glare. During evening hours, lighting levels create a safer space and are adapted to match the surrounding environment.
In the nature-sensitive area of Alster, luminaires are individually controlled and adapted to local environmental conditions. Combined with lower mounting heights, warmer light temperatures, and dimming strategies, the solution supports biodiversity goals while maintaining functionality and accessibility for the public.
At the same time, lighting control provides maintenance teams with improved operational insight through map-based visualisation, inventory information, and real-time status. This enables better planning, more efficient maintenance workflows, and fewer unnecessary site visits.
Lighting engineer, Karlstad Municipality
Today, Karlstad benefits from a connected lighting infrastructure that supports multiple city objectives through a single, adaptable platform. The combination of LED conversion and intelligent dimming strategies has contributed to lower energy consumption, while connected cabinet and luminaire control enables lighting to be tailored to the specific needs of different locations across the city.
Operational teams have gained better visibility into the lighting estate, improving maintenance planning, and reducing unnecessary field work. The city has also established a flexible foundation that supports evolving priorities related to safety, sustainability, biodiversity, and future public-space development.
Karlstad’s experience demonstrates that smart public lighting is not a single function or technology. It needs to be an adaptable infrastructure that can support energy efficiency, operational excellence, environmental responsibility, and better public spaces meeting the many needs of the city.
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