By Craig Causer
Tudela, the second largest city in Navarre, Spain, owes its heritage to Jewish, Muslim, and Christian influences. Founded in 802 under Muslim rule, Tudela’s diverse cultural past is apparent today in the Romanesque and Gothic architecture of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Tudela and among the narrow streets of the Jewish quarter.
To better display its Old-World charm, the city looked to evolve to more-efficient and effective street illumination. With an eye on enhancing urban illumination while minimizing energy consumption, the recent lighting renovation project undertaken by the City Council of Tudela is an advancement in sustainable urban development. The municipality has upgraded approximately 8,000 outdoor lighting fixtures to state-of-the-art LED technology, featuring an ultra-warm color temperature of 2200K in the historic center. A 3000K temperature was selected for the town’s periphery, main roads, and central square, balancing efficiency with visual comfort across urban zones.
Tudela, which serves as an important economic hub in the Ribera region, required a solution that addressed lighting inadequacies and contributed to its environmental goals. The new lighting system rectifies previously dim and unevenly lit areas and provides visually pleasing illumination that harmonizes with the city’s architectural aesthetics.
“Prior to the renovation, Tudela’s street lighting system was a patchwork of aging discharge technologies,” explained Andrés Armañanzas, director of the Lighting Department at ATP Lighting. “Adjacent streets often featured inconsistent lighting—some illuminated with high-pressure sodium lamps emitting warm yellow tones, others with metal halide sources producing cool-white light. The system’s dimming capabilities, originally intended to reduce output during off-peak hours, had become obsolete and ineffective. This led to a lack of uniformity: some areas were significantly overlit, while others were insufficiently illuminated. Many of the luminaires had deteriorated beyond their useful lifespan, prompting an urgent need for comprehensive modernization.”
The project encompassed a wide range of urban environments—access roads, industrial zones, residential streets, parks, historic city quarters including the approach to the cathedral, and monument lighting. The challenge lay in creating a tailored lighting atmosphere for each of these areas while achieving a coherent and visually balanced nighttime cityscape.
A total of 16 ATP Lighting luminaire models were selected to ensure seamless integration with the varied urban settings. Some of the luminaires installed include Siglo XLA, Litoral, and Villa XLA for use in the historic center and main square; Enur L, Enur Micro, and Aire floodlights for roadways, industrial areas, and some architectural lighting; and Cónica and Metrópoli LLC for squares and promenades with a more modern aesthetic. To meet regulatory illuminance levels and the complex demands of the existing supports, 146 different luminaire configurations—combining optics and wattage—were installed.
Since the municipality sought to preserve the city’s aesthetic integrity, the transition to LED technology was not intended to result in a drastic visual transformation. So, luminaires were selected both for their technical performance as well as the ability to harmonize with the existing urban elements. Each luminaire type was chosen to suit its specific context—whether a residential area, historic district, or industrial zone—ensuring that the lighting enhancements felt seamless and contextually appropriate.
A multi-tiered lighting control strategy was tailored to the diverse functional needs across the city. Three distinct systems were integrated; each was selected for its ability to deliver flexibility and energy efficiency. First, individual luminaire programming ensured optimal lighting levels throughout the night. In several zones, electrical cabinets were then equipped to adjust the regulation profiles of all luminaires connected to them, allowing operators to adapt settings in response to changing urban conditions. Finally, select distribution cabinets were upgraded for remote access, enabling real-time or scheduled adjustments through an online interface, offering a new level of responsiveness for city managers.
Tudela currently enjoys an 85% reduction in energy consumption compared to the previous installation, with the city’s main access bridge achieving savings of up to 95%. The final installed power was 375 kilowatts, and with Tudela covering an area of 215 sq kilometers, it equates to an energy-efficient 1.74 watts per sq meter.
According to Armañanzas, the most significant installation challenge was adapting the new luminaires and projectors to the wide variety of existing arms, poles, and mounting structures throughout the city. Since the project did not involve modifying these supports, each luminaire had to be precisely engineered to fit seamlessly into the current infrastructure. “[Also,] the fixed positioning of the existing mounts often led to lighting angles and distributions that were impossible to manage,” Armañanzas added. “To address this issue, custom optics were developed for many of the installations, allowing the photometric performance to be fine-tuned to the specific geometry and requirements of each site. This level of optical customization was essential to ensure uniform light levels and compliance with regulatory standards across all areas, despite the structural constraints.”
In key areas, such as the main square and the entrance bridge, Bluetooth-based control systems were deployed to provide full individual access to each luminaire. These systems allow for precise lighting scenarios to be programmed or altered on demand. In the main square, this capability supports the dynamic requirements of public events such as theater performances, concerts, and community gatherings by enabling customized lighting scenes that enhance ambiance without the need for manual intervention.
Bluetooth controls also aided in solving a particularly pesky problem at one of the city’s entrance bridges crossing the Ebro River. “During certain times of the year, swarms of mayflies, which are highly sensitive to artificial lighting, were being drawn to the bridge’s illumination, disrupting both safety and the natural behavior of the insects,” Armañanzas said. The installation went from a triple light point consuming close to 330 watts to a double light point—where the central unit was removed—with each luminaire currently consuming just 15 watts for a total of 30 watts per point.
“The solution involved drastically dimming the general illumination while maintaining only two luminaires—one at each end of the bridge—at full output to act as visual markers,” Armañanzas added. “All other fixtures could be dimmed to 10%, effectively minimizing insect attraction. When combined with the use of ultra-warm 2200K LEDs, this strategy proved successful in deterring the insects and preserving their natural behavior.”
The successful execution of Tudela’s outdoor renovation project is the result of a collaborative effort of various stakeholders including city officials, engineering consultants, and residents who shared their insights and experiences. The City Council of Tudela remains committed to sustainable urban development and continuous improvement, and the project serves as an example for cities working to balance modernization with ecological responsibility.
the Designer | Andrés Armañanzas is the director of the Lighting Department at ATP Lighting.
Raquel Fernández is a lighting designer at ATP Lighting.
Javier Bienzobas is a lighting designer at Saltoki, Pamplona.