Sustainability Spotlight: Smart City Streets and Sites
This summer, the City of San Leandro’s Public Works Department is wrapping up a two-year partnership with Climatec to retrofit and install a series of Smart City projects that will improve the City’s energy efficiency.
In 2016, the City signed a $5.2 million contract with Climatec, a DOE-certified Energy Services Company, with the goal of saving money and energy, as well as reducing municipal irrigation usage across many of the City’s operations. The projects focused on retrofitting or installing infrastructure managed by Public Works staff, such as streetlights, building lighting, and HVAC equipment. Details on the project are available at smartcitysl.com.
Climatec’s projects feature cutting-edge technology to streamline controls and integrate distant sites, furthering San Leandro’s role as a Smart City. Energy-efficient LED lights have been installed across several municipal buildings and sites, and 4,730 City street lights have been replaced with LED smart lights, which can be operated via a wireless mesh network that will automate lighting schedules and allow for remote management.
Fourteen of the City’s parks installed smart irrigation clocks, reducing water consumption at these sites. High-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air condition equipment has been installed in municipal buildings to further reduce energy use. All together, these projects are slated to save the City $8 million over the next 15 years.
In addition to fulfilling the City’s goal of serving as a Smart City, where technological innovation improves the quality of life throughout the community, the Climatec project serves as a critical aid in achieving the City’s bold climate change goals. The energy savings are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,390 metric tons annually—equivalent to 3.3 million miles driven in a car!
A live dashboard with real-time energy use will track major project savings. The dashboard will show energy use before and after the Climatec retrofits in three main City buildings to display the projects’ significant energy savings. The real-time dashboard that visualizes the project savings is a product of a collaboration between the City’s IT Department, Climatec, and OSIsoft, a software manufacturer based in San Leandro.
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