MTA’s Rutgers Tube outfitted with IOT-based emergency lighting

Clear-Vu Lighting successfully designed and installed clearNET, the first IOT-based wireless monitoring and control system for emergency lighting and other mission critical life safety assets in subway tunnels on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Rutgers Tube project, the F-Line between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The clearNET system, employed in conjunction with the MTLx LED tunnel light fixture, enables capabilities previously unattainable in transit environments, significantly improving the safety for passengers, workers and first responders, while also realizing energy savings and improving operational efficiencies for transit agencies.

“Recent and ongoing emergency subway tunnel evacuations across the country due to extreme weather events, technical malfunctions and maintenance failures highlighted the need for a system that would automatically and continuously validate the operation of emergency lighting in tunnel walkways and can enhance light levels for safer egress,” said Daniel Lax, CEO of Clear-Vu Lighting. “We are honored and privileged to deliver clearNET, a best-in-class technology that improves the safety and operations for both the commuters and rail workers of the largest transit system in the world.”

Specifically, the clearNET system incorporates remote asset management via wireless monitoring of fixture and/or battery health; control to instantly change tunnel illumination from NFPA130 emergency light levels up to OSHA 1926 light levels for transit worker safety during inspections, maintenance, construction and evacuations; and a thermal alarm system to provide awareness of potentially dangerous conditions in the tunnels in the absence of traditional fire alarms.

On the Rutgers Tube project, the clearNET + MTLx system generated combined capital and operating savings of $2,744,113 between materials, electricity, maintenance labor and efficiencies tied to the work light function. In addition to the benefits tied to the clearNET system, the illumination levels produced by the MTLx light fixture in the Rutgers tube will be four times the standard level throughout the legacy New York City Transit tunnel system for improved visibility.