In the City of Ljubljana, we have been aware of the importance of reducing electricity consumption and heating energy for many years, with this aim, we have carried out numerous energy renovations of buildings as well as the refurbishment and regulation of public lighting, which ensures adequate visibility conditions at the right time in the right place.

Mainly to ensure safety, we illuminate public areas and infrastructure, and we are constantly updating and upgrading the system in line with the guidelines in the field of energy efficiency and reducing light pollution. We are also achieving this with adaptive lighting systems, where brightness and illumination levels are adjusted based on data on traffic density and weather data. By redesigning the lighting of some cultural and historic buildings, we have achieved up to an 85% reduction in electricity consumption for this purpose, as well as a significant reduction in obtrusive light. The lighting of cultural heritage monuments has the additional function of illuminating the walking areas.

We will reduce the lighting in the P+R parking lots

In order to make additional savings, that is, to reduce electricity consumption, the City of Ljubljana has decided to:
• reduce the level of illumination on the lamps that are connected to the smart lighting management system via the SCADA system, whereby the minimum still acceptable safety level of illumination on the roads is ensured;
• connect suitable lamps to the remote smart control system, which can be used to adjust the lighting;
• turn off the decorative lighting at a specific time at monuments and bridges, assuming that the lamps are connected to smart control via the SCADA system so that they can be effectively regulated from the control centre.

First, we will implement the measures at two P+R parking lots, which already have an integrated smart management system from the control centre, namely, at P+R Stanežiče and P+R Letališka. By reducing the lighting to 30% for 7 hours at night and operating at 80% lighting the rest of the night, we will achieve up to 27% electricity savings. Two P+R parking lots, namely, Dolgi most and Barje, have a set-up infrastructure for smart lighting control (currently, the lamps do not yet have autonomous reduction). At these locations, we will make adjustments possibly in the coming months, and we expect that by implementing the system, we will be able to save over 40% of electrical energy.

We will adjust the holiday lighting

We will adjust the holiday decorations by turning off the lights in selected locations and wherever possible. During the day, we will turn off the decorations in the areas of the square Ciril-Metodov trg, the street Stritarjeva ulica, parts of the embankment Petkovškovo nabrežje and the streets Trubarjeva ulica, Miklošičeva ulica, Čopova ulica and Wolfova ulica. We estimate that the total length of lights at these locations is 15 kilometres of LED lights, saving around 40% of electrical energy since the lighting will be on for 10 hours instead of 24, as in previous years.

In certain sections of the strict city centre, we have already turned off individual street public lighting lamps during the time when holiday lighting is on, as they are not needed because of the decorative lighting. In addition, this year, we will cut in half the number of working street lamps on a section of the street Slovenska cesta and turn off some lights on the streets Pod Trančo, Stritarjeva ulica, Trubarjeva ulica and Wolfova ulica as well as Miklošičeva cesta. The total power saving due to the partial switching off of the lighting (more than 80 turned off lamps) on the mentioned streets amounts to 4050 W, representing savings of around 58 kWh throughout the night – equivalent to the consumption of five average Slovenian households in one day.

Despite the energy crisis, we want to create a pleasant atmosphere for the citizens and visitors of Ljubljana at the end of the year and give them joy, and that is why we will keep the decorations in the city centre to a greater extent, but for a shorter time. December is traditionally a month of joy, hope, and good wishes for the future and new beginnings. We believe preserving this traditional content during the holidays is very important, as it gives us a feeling of warmth, homeliness and faith in a better tomorrow, which is especially important in these uncertain times.

We will continue looking for solutions for a higher quality of life following professional guidelines and directions in the field of efficient energy management.