Revolutionary technology used to transmit information through ceiling lights is being tested in St. Cloud, Minn., government buildings before expanding to a broader stage.
On the second floor of the police station, light-emitting diode (LED) lights pulse, sending chunks of data from the light to a receiver on the computer below.
Visible-light communication, a technology billed by the company that created it as “the most secure wireless transmission on the planet,” eventually will allow the city to relocate computers without having to worry about moving wires. The ceiling lights will not only illuminate the room, they’ll transmit data and provide Internet access.
St. Cloud has signed a three-phase contract with locally based LVX Minnesota to become the first in the world to use the technology. “This technology, I believe, is revolutionary,” St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said.
The contract also will let the company put its technology to use and help it figure out the cost to provide service. That information will be used to market the technology to other businesses.
Aside from the data-transmission aspects of the technology, changing traditional lights to LEDs will save the city money on its electric bills.
How Much?
The big question is figuring out what the product is worth, LVX System CEO John Pederson said.
The city will help LVX figure out what it should be charging so it can market the system to other businesses. LVX has to make the lights pay for themselves in energy savings and show a reduction in operation costs.
Users can determine how bright the lights are, set them brighter when needed or turn them down. Pederson calls it “energy management control.”
Kleis said the city will be able to monitor energy savings during the three phases of the contract. The city has the opportunity to review energy savings and how the system is working after each…