Light plays a central role in our world. Without light we cannot work, travel or engage in leisure activities. In times of crisis, whether economic or environmental, lighting should be made more efficient, cheaper and acceptable.

BLISS stands for Better Lighting in Sustainable Streets. BLISS is a European project which was set up to achieve a reduction in street lighting energy consumption. The project participants are St. Helens in the UK, Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Interleuven in Belgium and Kaiserslautern in Germany. Together, these four European local councils intend to drastically reduce street lighting costs by using new cutting-edge technologies.

The BLISS project’s key aim is to find ways of reducing the amount of energy consumed by street lighting and thereby achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions. Another of the project’s aims is to ensure improvements in lighting, lower costs without compromising crime statistics and road accidents.

New lighting techniques have the potential to fulfil our ambitions. However new lighting controls now allow us to reduce energy consumption whilst ensuring people are satisfied with the results. We are living in a period of climate change and economic recovery. Against this background this project is helping us to reduce costs and contribute to the European target of a 20% reduction by 2020.