Sensors save up to 90 percent electricity at bus stops

Zürich, December 2020

The use of LED lights with motion sensors at bus stops can reduce power consumption for lighting by up to 90 percent. This is shown by tests carried out by the Zurich transport company and the energy supplier ewz. Now all stops are being retrofitted.

Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich ( VBZ ) and the municipal energy supplier ewz tested the use of new LED lighting at several stops in the first half of 2020. These are built in with motion sensors with which the light can be weakened to a tenth of its strength when nobody is at the stop.

The tests have shown that power consumption can be reduced significantly. "Viewed across all illuminated bus stops, the average energy saving for LED lights with motion sensors is around 90 percent, with the situation-specific regulation of brightness additionally reducing light emissions," Martin Suter, head of bus stops at VBZ, is quoted in a statement from his company. In addition, the service life should be able to be more than doubled by weakening the light to 25 to 30 years, according to the announcement.

In the next five years, the previous fluorescent tubes at all bus stops are to be replaced by the new LED lighting.

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