Design and Implementation of Solar LED Streetlight
The energy conservation mechanism of solar LED Streetlights uses an Arduino which is based on a low-cost microcontroller that is exclusive to smart cities
Energy promises the social and economic prosperity of a nation. The nations that are vigorously exploiting the abundant sources of renewable energy are on the right path. These natural resources hence are the primary ways to solve the energy crisis. The development of the energy sector helps in improving the living standard of the populous. It also adds considerable importance to environmental awareness. Furthermore, natural renewable sources of energy guarantee human health and sustainable development. Additionally, the lifestyle of humans becomes pollution-free, providing environmental protection. This demands an energy-saving solar LED Streetlight.
These lamps use solar panels to recharge the built-in batteries inside the lamps during days. At night time, the lamp uses the stored energy. The design and implementation of LED solar Streetlights eliminate the complex pipeline laying hassles. It also improves the complex and expensive manual operation mechanism thus making it a reliable and stable product.
Importance of Design and Implementation of Solar LED Streetlight
The design and working system of solar LED Streetlight comprises different components. This includes: LED Luminaire, PV Panel, LED driver, Motion sensor, Charge controller light sensor. The control mechanism of smart solar led lamps in street is a controllable and adjustable device. The control factor depends upon the intensity of the traffic as well day or night time.
This thus allows the system to operate only in the hours of need. Therefore, it operates only when there is a dark, rainy day or during bad weather. However, it automatically stops working during the bright daylight. On the contrary, in comparison with traditional Streetlight, the case is different.
Many a time we have come across many examples where even during the daylight Streetlight are Switched ON. This, therefore, is a complete waste of energy. Especially, in the underdeveloped or third countries which are facing some serious energy crisis, the waste brings disaster. Furthermore, one more issue that exists in traditional Streetlight is vapors of sodium.
Additionally, in incandescent bulbs, HID, metal halides, and fluorescent bulbs the ratio of energy consumption remains high. Nevertheless, in advanced LED lights this ratio remains 80% less than conventional sources. By using these lights, the hazards of operation become a non-existent phenomenon. This allows automatic control of Streetlights which is free of cost and self-powered efficient lights.
Global Scenario and Production Mechanism of Solar LED Streetlights
Globally, the ratio of solar LED Streetlight is not a very encouraging figure. On the entire planet, an estimate suggests that there are around 300 million Streetlights. This huge number largely encompasses traditional and conventional Streetlight.
These Streetlights annually emit 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This thereby makes this light one of the primary sources of carbon emission and global warming. The following alarming figure and situations thus call for the development and implementation of a robust system of lighting. With this comes in mind, the smart solar LED Streetlight.
These lights promise 80% energy saving, economical operation as well as the huge reduction in Co2. Furthermore, the devices are very in demand due to their highly efficient system and smart control. Therefore, a wise decision would be choosing the energy-efficient 10-15 years lifespan LED streetlights.
These advantages and sustainable behavior that LED Streetlight promises makes these devices a substantial solution. In the future, the most encouraging factor is that LED streetlights are going to replace conventional light bulbs. However, the production of LED Streetlight is not an as easy task.
It requires a state-of-the-art production line that includes a combination of quality material and precise manufacturing. This precise system of production includes the production of efficient energy-saving Streetlight using an intelligent sensor interface. This mechanism helps in controlling the intensity of the light as per requirement. Today, nonetheless, across the globe all the Streetlights are almost operated using a manual system.
This thereby brings an error in management as these lights do not turn ON when needed. Similarly, there are many cases when Streetlights remain ON even during the bright daylight due to the manual operation.
The Case of India (Most Populated Country)
Let’s take the case of India for solar LED Streetlight, which is the second most populated country. India is one of the big nations in the world. It also is one of the rising economies on the planet. To meet the demands of its population which is around 1.5 billion in number, it requires much energy.
With one of the biggest economies, however, the country is still facing an energy crisis. Out of its total electric energy consumption, almost 18% of its energy goes for Streetlights illumination and residential lighting requirements. In this percentage, the major part remains intact with Streetlight energy consumption. This, furthermore, makes the country one of the largest CO2 producing country in the world. There nevertheless were measures taken by the government of India for the reduction of CO2. But these measures are still not even close to what should be done.
In 2014, the government of India proposed the replacement of all the traditional Streetlights with LED luminaires. This by an estimate suggests that by annually India would save across 5,500 crores in its revenue also the considerable reduction in CO”.
The full implementation of this model hence would help the country to fight its energy obstacles. Furthermore, the economic, lighting, and environmental performance will increase thereby promising many other aspects. This includes the reduction in road accidents and theft and crimes. The country now to meet its lighting demands purchases annually around 77 crores of filament and incandescent bulbs.
This alone is limited for its residential sector requirement. Similarly, it purchases 40 crores of CFL bulbs for this purpose. these bulbs however consume around 60W to 100W and 30W to 40W respectively. But the lifespan of these bulbs remains less between one year to 4 years.
The Need for Smart Solar LED Streetlight
Keeping in mind the above case scenarios across the world, there is a dire need for smart solar LED Streetlight. This technology helps in solving many critical issues that international management is facing. Time-based smart Solar LED lights for streets works on a time preset system that turns them ON and OFF when needed.
However, there one classic disadvantage is that the preset time malfunctions when the season changes. With varying seasons as summers and winter, the preset time changes thereby affecting the operational timings for sunrise and sunset. This problem nevertheless is resolved using a light sensor-based smart solar led streetlight. The device will work even in heavy rain and cloud-day weather. This device additionally offers an amotion sensor mechanism. This thereby ensures energy-saving and economic operation by controlling the intensity of light with motion.
Smart LED solar lamps operate free of cost with a daily charging mechanism. This mechanism can be made more functional and operative by connecting it with grid electricity. This hence would help the device to continue operating even when there is very low charging.
The charging mechanism of these devices uses a PV solar panel attached to the top of the pole. With the initiation of the dark or evening, the device turns on using LDR light sensor. It turns on thereby at the intensity of 30%. The battery during this time starts discharging at a low speed. However, when it senses a motion of a person or vehicle it covers its intensity from 30% to 100% for a preset period. After this preset delay, the 100% efficiency or intensity will automatically reduce down again to 30%. This thereby ensures that there is optimum lighting as well as energy saving.
Working Methodology of Smart Solar LED Streetlight
In the working methodology of the solar LED street light, the four basic components are integral.
Design Architect
For this product, the foremost thing matters are the design Architecture. The second comes after design architecture is the hardware specifications for each component. The design architecture first includes the LEDs. It is a cluster of one to or multiple LEDs based on the requirement. This section is called the basic display unit. The other component is the PV solar Panel.
This panel is attached at the top to capture the maximum solar light. Solar panel attaches batteries that store DC and provides it when needed. The next major component in the design is the charge controller. The charge controller is the CPU of the system that converts the DC into AC and regulates the desired value. The other components include Arduino, LED driver, C program, LDR, and PIR sensors.
Hardware Specification of Solar LED Streetlight
In this section, we are going to discuss each component in a detailed manner.
Arduino
Arduino is an important component of the solar LED street light. It is a microcontroller. In technical terms, this is called Arduino Uno R3. The basic specifications are the ATmega328 microcontroller. The device is an effective component that operates at a voltage of 5V. Its input voltage capacity lies at 7 volts up to 12 volts.
The maximum input voltage limit of the Arduino is 20 volts. It also comprises 14 digital I/O pins for easy connectivity and understanding. The device also contains 6 analog pins. Arduino uses a DC volt for its operation of 40mA. For keeping the mart functions to operate smoothly, it keeps a memory of 32KB.
In this memory there includes a 0.5KB memory for the boot loader. The operating speed of the light is SRAM of 2KB. The overall EEPROM of 1KB. It also includes a clock speed of 16 MHz. There are other features of the Arduino UNO as well. This includes a separate USB connection or external power supply port. This port runs on 7 to 12 Volts as a recommendation. The component also provides extra power pins for connection to other devices. The variation of these devices comprises 5v, 3.3v, and Vin IOREF pins. These are integral for optional power facilities.
Solar Panel
In solar LED street light, the solar panel is the most important component. Without a solar panel, there is no use of solar LED light. In solar panels, there include solar cells. Solar cells are composed of silicon, which are semiconductors that produce DC when receiving sunlight.
These solar cells operate using a singular grown silicon crystal. A solar panel is also called in technical terms solar photovoltaic or solar PV. This thereby is also known as a photovoltaic effect. This phenomenon is famous for its conversion of solar light and energy into electricity.
Solar Panels as discussed before using a solar system element which is silicon. The element itself is a semi-conductor. The element lies between the upper and the bottom layer of the solar panel. The material that is thereby common in covering the element is usually glass.
However, a polymer resin is also common in fulfilling the purpose. So, when you expose these solar cells to solar light, the cells start converting the energy. Upon receiving the sunlight, the silicon cells hence incite the silicon electrons. These electrons thereby start absorbing energy. therefore, this continuous absorption of energy by electron makes them enough charges that they start moving. This motion of electron causes polarity and high charge difference. From there on, these electrons start moving from the outmost shells to the inner shells.
The constant movement thereby creates a polarity that what we know as current. This current comes in DC waveform. For the conversion of DC, we use an inverter that helps in converting DC into AC. The current feed through the inverter that causes is to change its potential from DC to alternate current (AC). Four basic types of solar cells include Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Amorphous Solar Cells, and Hybrid Solar Cells.
Battery
The battery is another important component of solar LED street lights. Batteries however in these lights are rechargeable. These batteries use lithium-ion phosphate as a cathode material. There is a reason for using a lithium-ion PH battery. This is because these batteries carry high energy density. The solar batteries in LED solar lights are also light in weight. The lightweight brings more life and longevity to them. By its nature, lithium-ion batteries are inherently safe for usage. This is the reason that these batteries are widely accepted and demanded batteries across the globe.
Sensors
In solar LED street lights, there are two types of sensors. This includes the LDR (Light-dependent Resistor) and PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor). The PIR sensor is also known as a motion sensor. Let’s talk about each of them separately.
LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) Sensor
As the name of the composition suggests that these sensors are resistors that depend upon the light incidents. This means that the resistance simply to put as the intensity of the light depends upon the intensity of the atmospheric light. In this way, we can infer that when the intensity of the atmospheric light increases the resistance of light decreases and vice versa. In this way, an analog signal in the form of input is given to the control circuit by the sensor. This value is very important as this can be used in turning the LED streetlight ON/OFF.
PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor)/ Motion Sensor
The PIR is also known as infrared or motion sensor. The PIR sensor is an electronic device. This device emits a signal around it to sense the presence of some aspects or entities. The working principle of this device is sensing the heat of objects around it. This also senses the motion of the entity.
These sensors are only prone to measure infrared radiation. These devices don’t emit but only detect infrared radiation. This is the reason this is known as a Passive IR sensor. In the science of infrared technology, every single object emits some form or intensity of heat radiation. These radiations are called thermal radiations. Such radiations are hence invisible to our eyes; however, you can easily detect them using an infrared sensor.
LED (Light Emitting Diode)
With continuous development and advancement in the technology of semiconductor materials, LED lamps are offering many benefits. These lamps help in providing the light in the visible range of the spectrum. This thereby makes LED lights emit high efficiency in comparison to that of incandescent bulbs and HID lamps. This is the reason that LED lamps worldwide are the most accepted light devices and also for streetlight purposes. Additionally, these LED lamps offer a long-life span of 50,000 Hrs to 1,00,000 Hrs with an efficiency of 100 to 120 lm/W.
Charge Control System
The charge controller in solar LED street light acts as an interface device. This device acts as a medium between a solar array and battery bank. The device helps the battery by preventing it from getting overcharging. This allows the battery to charge at a moderate rate at the end of the charge for a battery bank. This mechanism helps in enhancing battery life.
The controller helps in indicating the status of the battery. If the battery gets overcharged, undercharged, or in a state of discharge. The device displays the status of the battery by using an LED light indicator. Furthermore, there are several switches and MCBs that helps in providing the manual or emergency switch off to charging. The deep discharge hazard of the battery eliminates by adding a function of load terminals.
MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semi-Conductor Field Effect Transistor)
This a voltage control device. This is used for PWM that helps in controlling the intensity of light.
LED Driver
LED driver in LED streetlight converts the DC signal into the AC signal. This also helps to supply the appropriate amount of voltage for an LED array. However, the lifespan of an LED driver is not much a promising matter. Nevertheless, there is still research going on to enhance the lifespan of the LED driver. The lifespan still can be made impressive by reducing the level of load.
Software Development in Solar LED Streetlight
This system anyhow requires a program to run the proposed design or system. This thereby requires this type of similar program. This program is user-friendly and simple to understand. A person knowing the C language can also use this program. For running the program, all the sensor are integrated and hence runs the system.
First, it runs the dark sensor then the motion sensor, and ultimately the charge controller. The dark sensor helps in detecting the atmospheric light and the light in daylight remains switched OFF. During night time, the LED light starts working by detecting the low atmospheric light. From here on, the light sensor uses a preset time from dusk to midnight as 100% intensity. After that, it uses a 30% intensity. However, upon the detection of motion, the sensor shows 100% intensity.
IoT Based Control
The component can be used in the lighting system as IOT by using low-cost WIFI or ESP. This helps in remote control of light intensity as per requirement. This also helps in controlling and monitoring other components such as battery percentage, the intensity of light, Power ON/OFF, etc.
Working of Proposed Solar LED Streetlight System
During the daytime the system stores electricity in batteries. However, from evening to morning, the system uses electricity by commanding the Arduino-controller. Generally, it uses 30% of the intensity but upon sensing the motion it uses full capacity. This happens after the preset time when it doesn’t detect any motion. In the morning time, The LDR sends a signal to the program and it shuts off the system. If the system detects a low battery power it automatically switches itself to grid-power.
Sample Calculation
This compares the power of different sets of lighting instruments as:
SV Lamps
These are existing SV lamps that use
(150W) x (12Hrs) x (30 days) = 54kWhr
Ordinary LED Lamp
(30W) x (12Hrs) x (30 days) = 10.8kWhr
Automatic Solar LED Lamp
(30Wx6Hrs) x (10Wx6Hrs) x (30 days) = 7.2kWhr
Conclusion
By this, we can infer that the smart solar LED streetlight helps in saving 70% to 80% of the energy consumption. With the rise in demands, this system hence is the best option for meeting the demands. In an energy-conscious world, the solar LED streetlight to provide free of cost energy with better illumination, energy saving as well as reduction of maintenance cost.
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