Lithuanian Metropolis Leverages Internet of Things (IoT) and LoRa Technology for Smart City Integration

Kaunas Energy, a Lithuanian company based in the second-largest city in the country, plays a pivotal role in Lithuania's logistics, economic processes, and innovation flows. Situated at the heart of Europe, Kaunas offers a unique advantage due to its strategic location, linking Western and East-Central Europe. Although the city's population is relatively small, approximately 400,000, its geographical position makes it significant for Europe as a whole.

Recognizing Kaunas' potential, initiatives are underway to transform the city into a smart city. The city has already made substantial investments in smart technologies to enhance citizens' lives and address network coverage challenges. In a bid to become a smart city, Kaunas is integrating technology, research, and education into a single entity. To facilitate this transition, Lithuania is focused on developing infrastructure and addressing strategic issues for long-term development. The implementation of a LoRaWAN® network will also aid in the adoption of smart city technologies in the power industry.

To streamline the procurement and deployment of LoRaWAN® technology in Kaunas, Kaunas Energy sought assistance from Dicto Citius, a leading service provider and system integrator in Lithuania, and ACC Distribution, one of the top website distributors in the Baltic region. ACC Distribution, a well-established partner in the IoT industry, plays a crucial role in the integration of LoRaWAN® gateways across the Baltics. This collaboration makes LoRa network solutions more accessible and easier to implement.

Kaunas faces several challenges, including an aging population, deteriorating infrastructure, and increasing traffic congestion. With a growing population and economy, the city must also address environmental concerns such as global warming, air pollution, and water scarcity. Smart city technologies, capable of creating more efficient transport systems and improving the quality of life, are critical to solving these issues.

In addition, the heating system poses significant challenges. Roughly 90% of residents in the city rely on district heating, and issues with uninterrupted water supply and power consumption necessitate the integration of an IoT network. Moreover, district heating technology offers opportunities to maintain high air quality standards.

Kaunas Energy is committed to large-scale innovations in the city's infrastructure. Established in 1963, the company has contributed significantly to improving community services, cost savings from the city budget, and creating cost-effective smart city buildings. It supplies green heat and hot water to over 120,000 residents and approximately 3,500 commercial buildings, while managing 410 kilometers of the city's centrally supplied heat network.

An effective solution to these problems involves the integration of the IoT network, with Kaunas Energy recently beginning to integrate LoRaWAN® technology across the entire city. After careful consideration and research, the company recognized the numerous benefits that LoRaWAN® networks can bring to smart infrastructure and city services in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner.

LoRa technology boasts a wide range of applications, including remote sensing and analysis of various heat, hot water, and thermal network parameters. These advanced networking technologies simplify the integration of smart city applications and optimize the use of Internet of Things solutions.

In industrial monitoring systems, LoRaWAN gateways will address the problem of real-time data monitoring, reducing the occurrence of operational errors and enabling preventive and operational measures. As a result, LoRa solutions will help lower operating expenses and optimize energy management for Kaunas Energy.

Kaunas Energy is planning to integrate smart city technology into other municipal utilities in Kaunas City. With the help of LoRa technology, the Kaunas City Municipality will be able to manage cold water supply, improve waste management, expedite parking space searches, reduce air pollution, and optimize street light management.

To realize these ideas and initiatives, Kaunas Energy has chosen the KONA Macro IoT Gateway, an ideal solution for operators and enterprises requiring extensive LoRaWAN® network coverage. The KONA Macro IoT Gateway operates at a low cost with low power consumption, making it suitable for companies contributing to the creation of smart cities. Moreover, the KONA Macro offers diverse deployment capabilities, which cater to Kaunas Energy's deployment requirements.

Choosing to deploy a LoRaWAN® network was considered the best option given its long-range capabilities, low power consumption, and unlicensed spectrum usage, as LoRaWAN® addresses all Internet of Things coverage challenges faced by the company and offers promising prospects for future IoT projects and innovation.

Kaunas Energy's coordinators of the smart city program aim to assist in the implementation of smart technologies in buildings, contribute to the digitalization of the city, and address problems such as global warming or repeatedly delayed renovations of apartment buildings. Kaunas Energy will also monitor the efficiency of buildings using long-range wireless technology. Additionally, the company will conduct research to improve construction processes and develop a digitalization policy in Lithuania. Lastly, Kaunas Energy is planning to develop a system to measure pollution levels in various areas of Kaunas.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a promising solution for issues related to energy consumption, poor waste management, high operational costs, and public safety. By integrating LoRaWAN® protocol into its operational processes, Kaunas Energy has significantly improved city services, offering better services to the city and its residents while creating an effective urban alliance.

Individuals interested in learning more about Kaunas Energy's smart energy use projects may visit kaunoenergija.lt. To order a reliable LoRa and LoRaWAN® solution in the Baltic region, reach out to ACC Distribution. For more information about Dicto Citius, a leading service provider and system integrator, visit the official webpage. To learn about our website's complete end-to-end IoT solutions for smart cities, please contact us or visit the solutions page.

Kaunas Energy, in partnership with Dicto Citius and ACC Distribution, is integrating LoRaWAN® technology for asset tracking and energy management in a bid to transform Kaunas into a smart city.
The integration of LoRaWAN® gateways across smart buildings, smart-home-devices, and the home-and-garden sector promises to enhance lifestyle experiences and address network coverage challenges.
As part of the smart city initiative, Kaunas Energy is leveraging data-and-cloud-computing technology to monitor and optimize the use of technology, research, and education within the city.
The deployment of the KONA Macro IoT Gateway will aid Kaunas Energy in improving municipal utilities, including cold water supply management, waste management, parking space management, air pollution reduction, and street light management.
The IoT network and technology solutions, such as LoRaWAN®, are instrumental in addressing challenges faced by smart cities like Kaunas, including those related to energy consumption, waste management, high operational costs, and public safety.

Lithuanian Metropolis Leverages Internet of Things (IoT) and LoRa Technology for Smart City Integration