Thousands of luminaires in Switzerland are serviced from here - a visit to technical customer service

From their desks, Manuela Thoma and Stefan Raymann look after thousands of networked luminaires throughout Switzerland. They learn in real time when there is a malfunction - and can respond immediately. Why they once had to take care of a neighborhood resident's nocturnal toilet trips and why it is worthwhile to regularly evaluate the lighting data, they tell us here.

It's actually quite simple, says Stefan Raymann: "If the round light controller or radar sensor is mounted on top of the luminaire, it's my responsibility. If it's at the bottom, it's my colleague Manuela Thoma." Controllers and sensors are the core elements of intelligent lighting control systems. Thanks to them, Stefan Raymann and Manuela Thoma can monitor and configure luminaires throughout Switzerland from their offices in Wädenswil.

As part of the technical customer service in the area of smart city and light, the two have responsibility for the entire lighting infrastructures of Elektron customers. Primarily, these are municipalities, cities and electric utilities. Stefan Raymann explains, "With our DynaDim+ service subscription, they can enjoy the benefits of smart lighting control without having their own personnel overhead or having to acquire special know-how."

Remote access allows Elektron experts to take over all tasks that arise. "For example, we configure individual dimming calendars according to customer-specific requirements and monitor the operating status of the lighting in real time."

While Stefan Raymann is responsible for all DynaDim+ and Interact City customers, Manuela Thoma takes care of customers with Eagle Eye radar sensors. "These enable motion-dependent light that comes on before you even reach the street section," she explains. In total, the two look after thousands of lights in all parts of the country.

Stefan Raymann sits in front of a screen showing a map of a Swiss municipality - crisscrossed with lines of yellow dots. Each dot represents a luminaire, Raymann explains: "This is the overview of a lighting system in the canton of Bern. I have every single light under control and can see immediately if there is a fault somewhere." The great advantage of this, he says, is that the customer in question can be informed immediately and even diagnosed remotely as to whether or not he can solve the problem himself. "If necessary, we also send him the right spare part right away."

The times, in which the responsible persons of the municipality had to ask the population by newspaper advertisement to announce defective lights, are thereby past. Also hour-long nightly control journeys by the quarters are unnecessary, the expenditure is reduced to a minimum.

Manuela Thoma specifies: "We can also easily control individual luminaires and, for example, adjust the dimming profile of a single street. This is particularly appreciated on public holidays and at events such as the Räbeliechtli procession or on August 1."

However, there are other needs for which access to a special luminaire is necessary, as Stefan Raymann recounts: "A resident of a neighborhood had complained to his local authority that the new street light in front of his bedroom window no longer shone as brightly as the old one. Now he can't see anything when he has to go to the toilet at night. At the request of the community, we then adapted this single light so that it once again provided sufficient light for this gentleman's nighttime toilet trips."

Increasing demand, he says, is also for evaluations of the lighting data that are automatically sent from the luminaires to the system. Especially in the area of energy. How much electricity did I use on this street? And how much more is that compared to the street with 20% less light? It's questions like these that Elektron customers want answered. "It also makes sense," says Stefan Raymann. "With a targeted control, you save up to 80% energy."

Whoever now thinks that you can only get the maximum out of your lighting system with the help of Elektron experts is mistaken. Each customer and each customer also has the option of taking over the support, programming and evaluation of their infrastructure themselves. Stefan Raymann: "Some people develop an incredible ambition in doing so. On the one hand, to maximize the economic and ecological benefits of intelligent lighting control. But on the other hand also because working with it is simply fun."