A night view of Lusail Energy City. The smart lighting system installed in the city can also be used for charging electric cars in future. PicS: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula
Doha: Energy City Qatar has lit its streets and headquarters to announce the integration of the components of work in it, as many government entities and leading companies have already started work through their iconic buildings in the city.
The lighting cost of Energy City Qatar amounted to about QR15m, which was invested in deploying 320 smart poles that carry 640 lights and operate with the ‘zigbee’ antenna system, which facilitates the process of fully controlling the lighting remotely and rationalising its use, said Engineer Hisham Al Emadi, Chief Executive Officer of Energy City Qatar, in a statement.
Al Emadi indicated that this system will play a great role in reducing environmental pollution and improve the environment for residents and visitors to the city.
He said that many government entities and leading companies including Lusail University, Qatar Charity and Beema have started operation in Energy City Qatar. Other entities which are in the construction phase include Dar Al Sharq, Endowments Authority, Al Khaleej Insurance and other top-rated contracting companies and government entities, Al Emadi added.
He revealed that the light capacity of the city is estimated at 80 kilowatts, adding the new smart poles are available with the latest technologies capable of directing them towards providing more services outside the lighting frame, such as the possibility of using them as an electric charger for cars, by distributing them in all the parking spaces of the city, which will raise from the turnout for Energy City Qatar in the coming period, with expectations for an increase in the proportion of cars dependent on electric energy in Doha in future.
Al Emadi said that these multifunctional smart poles are a recent development in the urban scene, as they constitute an integrated system of smart lighting, with the possibility of relying on sensors, Wi-Fi or cellular technology, in addition to their use in advertisements by means of media screens, and weather recognition.
Al Emadi explained that these smart poles are equipped with a remote control system via fibre optics in all sections of the city with a modern design showing the illuminated logo of Energy City Qatar, pointing out that the city streets have been illuminated with three types of smart poles, which are 12 meters and 10 meters in addition to the 8 meters poles, which ensure compliance with quality and safety standards in all city facilities.
Al Emadi stressed that the dream of “Energy City Qatar” has become a reality that will provide an added value to the economy in the State of Qatar, the most prominent features of which are evident through the adoption of a sustainable city that responds to the highest international standards in the field of environment and modern technologies.
Moreover, Ahmad Al Abdulla, CEO of the Lighting Design Company, said the lighting poles installed in the city were able to provide many different services. In addition to lighting the streets, they will also charge electric cars, with the possibility of reducing the amount of lighting in the street according to timing and need, through the control centre responsible for operating the lighting system.
Al Abdulla added that these poles will be equipped in the coming period with screens that will be used in advertisements during the next phase, and will also be relied upon in launching Wi-Fi services in the city, in addition to the possibility of relying on them as sensors, indicating that the installation of these poles in the city took two months.
Manufacturing took six months, during which the Lighting Design Company supervised the design and the method of selecting all the equipment used in the manufacturing process of these smart poles by a Chinese company.
It is worth noting that Energy City Qatar is considered a developed centre for business and home to leading companies in the heart of the one of the fastest growing cities in the Middle East. The project provides an integrated set of services that allow companies to achieve the highest levels of creativity according to the highest international standards. Energy City Qatar benefits from its strategic location within “Lusail” project and provides a wide range of residential and entertainment facilities, as part of the Energy City Qatar's endeavour to become a global hub for business for the twenty-first century.
