Development of a Smart Solar-Powered LED Street Lighting

System for Greener Community

Warlito M. Galita, Ph. D.
College of Industrial Technology, Bulacan State University
City of Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines
e-mail: [email protected]

Keywords: (solar, street lighting, smart, LED, green community)

Abstract
The major objective of the study was to design and develop a Smart Solar-
Powered LED Street Lighting System for a Greener Community. The project is
different from conventional street lighting systems not only in the sense that it
uses solar energy, but more importantly, it is also a stand alone device that
provides for an efficient energy management program that ensures effective
maintenance and reduced energy wastage due to malfunctioning lighting
controls. In addition, it is much more cheaper to fabricate and maintain as
compared with its commercially available counterparts. One important
feature of the project is that it automatically controls the brightness of the
LED lamp depending on a particular time of day, especially in cases where
full level illumination is not needed, thus reducing power consumption. It
automatically activates and deactivates lighting depending on the hours
whereby daylight is sensed, thus ensuring a continuous cycle of charging and
discharging the storage battery for maximum efficiency. All of these functions
are possible since the project uses a controller, allowing for variable settings
of time activation as well as brightness level, depending on the preference of
the end-users. The project functioned according to expectations, being a
cheaper and environment-friendly alternative as compared with its
commercially available counterparts. It also provided a cost-effective
approach to managing street lighting systems in a wide variety of
applications.

I. Introduction

At this point in mankind's existence, most of the energy households consume is

gathered from the numerous power plants driven by fossil fuels. However, these fossil fuels
are nearing their extinction and becoming more and more expensive to source. Not only is it
an expensive resource, but it also contributes negatively to the environment. Gases emitted by
these power plants cause such a harmful effect on our environment and because of this, the
world is now facing a much bigger problem that is global warming.
Due the impending scarcity of many valuable resources as well as its harmful effects
on the environment, people are now starting to consider other sources of energy. Although
there have been many studies on the viability of wind or water energy as an easy
transportable energy solution, solar energy has now become the major alternative since it is
the easiest to collect energy from. By using solar energy, the earth’s non-renewable sources
of energy can be preserved, thus helping the environment. Because of this, solar energy is
also termed as a green fuel since it does not cause pollution or harm the environment in any
way. Hence, this results in a win-win solution in opting for solar energy to cut down the
consumption of the conventional electricity while simultaneously helping to make the earth a
better place to live in.
Solar energy can be used in various different ways, making it very versatile. It can be
used for both domestic and the industrial purposes. The many products that are being used
today are solar batteries, solar cookers, calculators, etc. Although the applications for solar
energy applications are endless, the major goal of this study is to design and develop an
intelligent street lighting system. Interest in solar lighting systems, particularly street lighting,
is rising because of the possibility to install them in remote areas such as rural areas in less
developed countries[1]. However, the street lighting system that will be developed is not the
usual halogen or incandescent lamps being utilized today, but the light emitting diode (LED)
type. The introduction of LED has created a superb new range lighting systems that are
environment-friendly, easy to install and maintain and offers tremendous light output. This is
a big deviation from the usual street lighting systems that utilize conventional electricity
supplied by local power utilities.
In addition, the proposed street lighting system does not require complicated and
entrenched wiring systems unlike those presently being utilized today. The project at hand
can be easily installed and moved and delivers free renewable energy which is stored in a
battery ready to be used when darkness falls. It also addresses the need of people to be
conscious about the ecological impact of the different kinds of lighting systems being
developed to cater to the intelligent needs and the demands of the end-users.
The study aims to underscore the importance of tapping vast renewable energy
sources to address various energy issues confronting the global environmental landscape.
This burning desire of the researcher led to the realization of the major objective of the study,
which is to design and develop a Smart Solar-Powered LED Street Lighting System for a
Greener Community.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
The major objective of this undertaking is to design and develop a Smart Solar-
Powered LED Street Lighting System for a Greener Community. Specifically, the study aims
to answer the following:
1. Determine an appropriate lighting system and solar panel suitable for the needs of
 the project.
2. Design an appropriate control circuit for managing the operation of the system.
3. Design a suitable casing/enclosure for the circuit.
4. Determine the acceptability of the device based on the following criteria, namely:
4.1 Functionality;
4.2 Reliability;
4.3 Usability;
4.4 Maintainability;
4.5 Portability;
4.6 Workability; and
4.7 Safety.

II. Methodology
The framework that guided this study is depicted in the form of paradigm. This study
followed the input, process and output (IPO) model.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Concepts, Ideas
Related Designing the Smart Solar-
Literature and Project Powered LED
Studies Construction, Street Lighting
Tools and Assembly System for a
equipment Testing and
Greener
Miscellaneous & Revising
Community
other expenses

Final
Evaluation

Figure 1. Conceptual Model

The INPUTS of the study consist of concepts and ideas, related literature and studies,
tools and equipment used in the construction of the project and expenses incurred in the
fabrication of the project. The PROCESS of the study consists of designing the project,
acquisition of needed materials, construction and assembly, testing and revising in case of
some technical problems and revisions. The OUTPUT of the study is the finished and
functional Smart Solar-Powered LED Street Lighting System for a Greener Community.
Upon the completion of the project, it was subjected to various tests before submitting it for
final evaluation regarding its acceptability and performance.
Several literature reviews and informal surveys were done to see what type of solar
street lighting systems were already in existence as well as the cost of putting up such
systems. Various configurations were examined in different types of environments and
settings. It was found that intelligent solar-powered LED street lighting systems were the
ideal set-up in communities especially in these times where environmental considerations are
put at a premium[2].
According to Davis[2], the 4.4 million streetlights in the US ten largest metropolitan
statistical areas use an estimated 3 billion kWh of electricity annually, producing the
equivalent of 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. If only a 50 percent reduction in
power used could be achieved, this will amount to a savings of1.5 billion kWh or 1.1 million
metric tons of carbon emissions. It is for this reason that an intelligent outdoor lighting
system can help local communities do their part in meeting this global challenge. Intelligent
lighting systems utilize the latest technologies to optimize the light intensity according to the
situation by dimming the lamp. All lamps can be communicated with, so their condition can
be assessed remotely and, if necessary, the lamp can be controlled remotely. The key benefits
are: (1) reduced energy costs, (2) reduced greenhouse gas emissions, (3) reduced maintenance
costs, (4) higher community satisfaction, (5) fast payback, and (6) information.
A work plan was laid out to design and execute the fabrication of the project at hand.
It included a system analysis of what type of LED lamp was to be used, the type of battery,
whether maintenance-free of deep cycle battery and the solar panel to be selected, in terms of
maximal efficiency for minimal area, low foot print realization in terms of whether mono-
crystalline and poly-crystalline technologies will be utilized. Various designs of the pole to be
used, in terms of solidity of material (resistance to corrosion, weight and atmospheric
conditions such as humidity and moisture), its effective height as well as the type of battery
casing to be used for the project were put forward. After a careful system analysis of each
component specification was done, additional considerations with regards to the availability
and cost of each of the needed parts were also considered.
The design goals for this project were efficiency, simplicity, reliability and the
availability of parts in the research locale. Hence, after undertaking the system analysis on the
project components, the following components were used for the project. A medium type
poly-crystalline solar panel (100W) rated with a charging current of 5.78A and charging
voltage of 17.3 volts was used in conjunction with a deep cycle 3SM solar battery. Deep
cycle batteries are designed with thicker plates and with overall less surface area. These
batteries give up just as much power for their rated size, but do it over a much longer period
of time. It is in this vein that deep cycle batteries are best suited for solar electric systems[3].
It is very important to match the solar panel’s current rating capacity to the battery’s
amp-hour rating. A simple LED lamp controller (50 watts) was used to control the charging
system as well as the automatic dimming and shut-off of the lamp during operation. During
the daytime the controller preserves the electricity energy gathered by the solar module (PV
module), then stores it in the battery. In the evening the controller uses the battery energy to
power the LED streetlight[4]. This controller charge controls the battery by day to a user-
selected voltage and then at night, turns on the light until the battery discharges to a user
defined voltage. The controller not only controls solar energy storage to the battery, but it
also manages the power consumption to the LED streetlight.
In addition to the pole used, a battery casing enclosure was designed to secure the
battery in place and a tilting mechanism for the solar panel was included in the design for
adjustment of angle of the panel. The mounting bracket of the LED lamp was also designed
to be movable for flexibility of height adjustment. Shown in Figure 2 below is the finished
prototype of the project.

Figure 2. Pictures of the Project

In terms of costs, the project only incurred a total fabrication expense of Php 28,
207.50. As compared with its commercially available counterparts, it is substantially lower
since the cheapest solar streetlight in the market nowadays is Php 60,000 and above.
About forty-five (45) working days were consumed in the preparation and fabrication
of the project. Upon completion of the project, it was subjected to a dry run of two (2) weeks
continuous operation inside the school premises. Time-lapse cameras were installed to
observe the automatic turn on and shut off times of the lamp. The charging times and cycles
of the solar battery were also observed during this period. An audio-video presentation was
also prepared as a documentation procedure of the actual demonstration of the operation of
the project. It included the actual assembly procedure as well as 2-week dry run operation of
the project captured in time-lapse form. After continuously testing the project on a varied
number of parameters, an objective evaluation was undertaken by the researcher to test the
acceptability and performance of the project in terms of the pre-determined criteria set forth
in the conceptualization of the study. A 5-point Likert scale was used to quantify responses of
the evaluators, with 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.
Scale Verbal Interpretation
4.21 – 5.00 Highly Acceptable
3.41 – 4.20 Acceptable
2.61 – 3.40 Moderately Acceptable
1.81 – 2.60 Unacceptable
1.00 – 1.80 Highly Unacceptable
A panel of experts in the field of Electrical and Electronics Technology/Engineering
were chosen to evaluate the project. A discussion of the salient features of the project was
given as well as an actual demonstration using the video presentation prepared by the
researcher. The experts were composed of forty-six (46) experts, who were a mixture of
educators in HEIs and professionals employed in different companies in the area of Bulacan.
III. Results and Discussion
The primary objective of the study is to develop a Smart Solar-Powered LED Street
Lighting System for a Greener Community and evaluate it in terms of acceptability and
performance. A discussion of each of these criteria follow:
Functionality
Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the project in terms of its functionality. As
shown in the tabular results all statements regarding the projects suitability, accurateness,
interoperability, compliance and security were rated “Highly Acceptable, with mean ratings
ranging from 4.4 to 4.6.
 Table 1
Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Functionality

CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION

Functionality
Suitability. Functions are appropriate to
specification. 4.6 Highly Acceptable
Accuracy. Function specified performed according
to specifications. 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Interoperability. The prototype can be interfaced
with other components or systems. 4.4 Highly Acceptable
Compliance. Adherence to industry standards for
similar hardware components. 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Security. Provision for security requirements. 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Average Mean 4.5 Highly Acceptable

The average mean rating of 4.5, interpreted as “Highly Acceptable”, shows that the
project was rated favorably by the respondents in terms of its functionality.
Reliability
Table 2 shows the evaluation results of the project in terms of its reliability. All
statements regarding the projects reliability were rated favorably, as evidenced by the average
mean rating of 4.5, interpreted as “Highly Acceptable.
Table 2
Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Reliability

CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION

Reliability
Maturity. Absence of failure.
4.3 Highly Acceptable
Fault tolerance. Ability to withstand and recover
from component failure. 4.4 Highly Acceptable
Recoverability. Ability to bring back a failed
system to full operation. 4.7 Highly Acceptable
Average Mean 4.5 Highly Acceptable

Usability
Table 3
 Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Usability

CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION

Usability
Understandability. Ease of which the systems’
functions can be understood. 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Learnability. Learning effort for different users,
i.e., novice, expert, etc. 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Operability. Ability of the prototype to be easily
operated by a given user in a given environment. 4.5 Highly Acceptable

Provision for comfort and convenience. 4.6 Highly Acceptable

Average Mean 4.52 Highly Acceptable

In terms of its usability, Table 3 shows that the evaluators rated the statements
favorably, as evidenced by the average mean rating of 4.52 interpreted as “Highly
Acceptable.
Maintainability
Based on the results of the evaluation, the projects’ maintainability was rated “Highly
Acceptable” as evidenced by the average mean rating of 4.4.
Table 4
Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Maintainability

CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION

Maintainability
Analyzability. Ability to identify the root cause of
failure within the prototype. 4.4 Highly Acceptable
Stability. Characterizes the sensitivity of the
prototype to adjust to changes within the system. 4.4 Highly Acceptable
Testability. Characterizes the effort needed to
verify (test) a system change. 4.4 Highly Acceptable

Can hardware be serviced, maintained and 4.4 Highly Acceptable

upgraded locally?
Average Mean 4.4 Highly Acceptable

Portability
In terms of its portability, Table 5 shows that the evaluators rated the statements
favorably, as evidenced by the average mean rating of 4.4 interpreted as “Highly Acceptable.
Table 5
 Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Portability

CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION

Portability
Adaptability. Ability of the system to change to
new specifications or operating environment. 4.5 Highly Acceptable
Installability. Are different options available for
installation? Can hardware be installed and 4.4 Highly Acceptable
maintained by local utility personnel?
Replaceability. Ease of exchanging a given
prototype component within a specified 4.3 Highly Acceptable
environment.
Appropriateness of size and weight suitability. 4.4 Highly Acceptable

Average Mean 4.4 Highly Acceptable

Workability
Table 6 shows the evaluation results of the project in terms of its workability. All
statements regarding the projects workability were rated favorably, as evidenced by the
average mean rating of 4.56, interpreted as “Highly Acceptable.
Table 6
Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Workability

CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION

Workability
Availability of Materials. Consideration must be
given to whether a line of equipment and/or spare 4.5 Highly Acceptable
parts is still available or discontinued.
Availability of technical expertise.
4.4 Highly Acceptable
Availability of tools and machines. Provisions for
diagnostic tools and procedures. 4.8 Highly Acceptable

Average Mean 4.56 Highly Acceptable

Safety
In terms of its safety criterion, Table 7 below shows that the evaluators rated the
statements favorably, as evidenced by the average mean rating of 4.43 interpreted as “Highly
Acceptable.
Table 7
Mean and Descriptive Ratings for the Projects’ Safety
 CRITERIA MEAN INTERPRETATION
Safety
Absence of toxic or hazardous materials.
4.6 Highly Acceptable
Absence of sharp edges.
4.3 Highly Acceptable
Provision against harmful or dangerous
events/objects. 4.4 Highly Acceptable

Average Mean 4.43 Highly Acceptable

Summary Findings
As reflected in Table 8, all evaluation criteria set forth at the outset of the study were
given favorable ratings of “Very Acceptable” by the panel of evaluators in terms of (1)
functionality; (2) reliability; (3) usability, (4) maintainability, (5) portability, (6) workability
and (7) safety.
Table 8. Summary of Responses

Criteria Mean Interpretation

1. Functionality 4.50 Highly Acceptable

2. Reliability 4.50 Highly Acceptable
3. Usability 4.52 Highly Acceptable
4. Maintainability 4.40 Very Acceptable

5. Portability 4.40 Very Acceptable

6. Workability 4.56 Highly Acceptable
7. Safety 4.43 Very Acceptable
Overall mean 4.47 Very Acceptable

In addition, it was determined that it was the appropriate design that integrated the
most practical and adaptable design for both domestic and even industrial applications.
Finally, the project also functioned according to expectations, in being a cheaper alternative
as compared with its commercially available counterparts. It is in this line that intelligent or
smart street lighting technology has now matured, providing a cost-effective approach to
managing street lighting systems in various communities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of the significant findings derived from the development of this project, the
following are the recommendations:
1. That the Smart Solar-Powered LED Street Lighting System for a Greener
Community is very affordable and as such, can be mass-produced to address the energy
concerns of communities as well as address the global warming concerns;
2. That the projects’ solar panel be equipped with a sensor ball circuit to automatically
follow the position of the sun, and;
3. That further studies be done to expand the functions and capabilities of the project
so as to further add additional features to the existing prototype.

References

[1] Russo, Silvestro. (2010). Solar Street Lighting Application with ZXLD1374. Issue No. 1,
September, Retrieved December 16, 2012 at
http://www.diodes.com/_files/products_appnote_pdfs/AN74_ZXLD1374_for_solar_s
treet_lighting.pdf

[2] Davis, Fiona. (2009). Intelligent Street Lighting. Jennic Ltd. Retrieved on December 16,
2012 at www.jennic.com

[3] http://www.wsetech.com/battery.php

[4]http://www.st.com/web/en/resource/technical/document/application_note/CD00227569.pd
f