LEDification update in Antwerp – Update as of December 2023

In 2020 the City of Antwerp has decided to replace all streetlighting assets into smart LED fixtures by 2030. The goal of the project is to substantially save on energy consumption while improving the nocturnal experience. The split-up approach of the project into neighbourhood-sized sub-projects enables a qualitative approach with a coherent image and a spread of the investment and resources over the 10-year period with priority setting.

On top of the LEDification, the city continues to invest in the lighting of landmarks. In May the new illumination of the Central Station was revealed. Since then the external lighting of ‘het Steen’ was also completed. Next up is the Flemish Opera that will be realised in the spring of 2024.

After 3 years 30% of the 54.846 light points are LED. The priority lies in the replacement of the oldest luminaires with the highest energy-consumption. 14% is being carried out. 11% is in technical study. 17% is in preparation.

With the Light Plan from 2012 as a guide, the City of Antwerp sees the LEDification as a unique opportunity to re-think the complete lighting scheme. It goes a lot further than a simple one to one replacement. The ideal situation is when one can simultaneously optimize the distance between poles and lower the light point height, creating a sustainable future image of the nocturnal environment.

In the realised projects, the energy savings of 69% were above expectations. This nice result can be explained by the obvious efficiency improvement of the LEDs and optics, but also by the optimised positioning and the possibility to use dimmed regimes.

As a reaction to the recent sharp rise in energy prices, the City decided to extinguish big parts of Antwerp’s neighbourhoods for a part of the night. For this purpose a plan was set up where the strategic zones (traffic axes, 24hrs economy, intense nightlife activities, etc.) were defined. These strategic zones were not extinguished, but all light points outside of these zones were switched off between 1 and 5 am. The city has not reversed this decision, but continues to analyse and optimise the regimes when necessary

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