Feb 21 2011
The Remote Operations Asset Management (ROAM), a remote monitoring system, from Acuity Brands will soon play a vital role in catering to the growing outdoor lighting needs for the city of Austin, Texas.
This innovative remote monitoring system can establish city-wide control and assessment of the city’s lighting demands by means of wireless communication.
This outdoor lighting solution can be used by operators for managing the assets thereby reducing the cost of maintenance and energy in municipalities. Subject to completion by 2014, this project is estimated to save about $1,000,000 annually. On successful completion of the project, each of Austin’s streetlights can be controlled remotely.
According to the initial plans, the first phase of the project will involve the setting up of ROAM wireless controllers on the 3,300 streetlights across the city. The ROAM devices feed the data via a web-based communication unit on an hourly basis. The ROAM solution is already in use across numerous places such as College Station, TX, Los Angeles, CA, Glendale, AZ and Anderson, IN.
With the implementation of the ROAM system, local residents will no longer be required to alert authorities on a malfunctioning fixture or a streetlight illumination during the day. The ROAM solution enables operators to find the exact location of the problem, thus ensuring reliable and efficient operation.
The ROAM system will turn the lights on or off according to the selected offset. By capturing electrical data at each fixture, ROAM will track and monitor the vital factors affecting the electric distribution system by offering a comprehensive energy consumption report.
The service crew can count on this inventive asset management system to receive reliable information about crucial factors such as pole type and color, lamp type, fixture type, and wattage. The wireless technology implemented in these systems lowers the time required for restoration of a faulty lighting fixture.