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INTRODUCTION Street light controllers are smarter versions of the mechanical or electronic
timers previously used for street light ON-OFF operation. They come with energy conservation
options like twilight saving, staggering or dimming. Also many street light controllers come with
an astronomical clock for a particular location or a Global Positioning System (GPS) connection
to give the best ON-OFF time and energy saving. Automatic Street Light Control System is a
simple and powerful concept, which uses transistor as a switch to switch ON and OFF the street
light automatically. By using this system manual works are removed. It automatically switches
ON lights when the sunlight goes below the visible region of our eyes. It automatically switches
OFF lights under illumination by sunlight. This is done by a sensor called Light Dependant
Resistor (LDR) which senses the light actually like our eyes By using this system energy
consumption is also reduced because now-a-days the manually operated street lights are not
switched off properly even the sunlight comes and also not switched on earlier before sunset.
In sunny and rainy days, ON time and OFF time differ significantly which is one of the major
disadvantage of using timer circuits or manual . This project exploits the working of a transistor
in saturation region and cut-off region to switch ON and switch OFF the lights at appropriate
time with the help of an electromagnetically operated switch. A street light, lamppost, street
lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or
walkway, which is turned on or lit at a certain time every night. Modern lamps may also have
light-sensitive photocells to turn them on at dusk, off at dawn, or activate automatically in dark
weather. In older lighting this function would have been performed with the aid of a solar dial.
It is not uncommon for street lights to be on poles which have wires strung between them, or
mounted on utility poles. This project exploits the working of a transistor in saturation region
and cut-off region to switch ON and switch OFF the lights at appropriate time with the help of
an electromagnetically operated switch Automatic Streetlight needs no manual operation of
switching ON and OFF. The system itself detects whether there is need for light or not. When
darkness rises to a certain value.
2. LIST OF COMPONENTS
LDRs or Light Dependent Resistors are very useful especially in light/dark sensor circuits.
Normally the resistance of an LDR is very high, sometimes as high as 1000 000 ohms, but when
they are illuminated with light resistance drops dramatically. When the light level is low the
resistance of the LDR is high. This prevents current from flowing to the base of the transistors.
Consequently the LED does not light.
3.2. TRANSISTORS BC547 is an NPN bi-pola junction transistor. A transistor, stands for transfer
or resistance commonly used to amplify current. A small current at its base controls a larger
current at collector & emitter terminals. BC547 is mainly used for amplification and switching
purposes. It has a maximum current gain of 800. Its equivalent transist The transistor terminals
require a fixed DC voltage to operate in the desired region of its characteristic curves. This is
known as the biasing. For amplification applications, the transistor is biased such that it is partly
on for all input conditions. The input signal at base is amplified and taken at the emitter. BC547
is used in common emitter configuration for amplifiers. The voltage divider is the commonly
used biasing mode. For switching applications, transistor is biased so that it remains fully on if
there is a signal at its base. In the absence of base signal, it gets completely off.
3.3. RESISTORS Resistor is an electrical component that reduces the electric current. The
resistor's ability to reduce the current is called resistance and is measured in units of ohms
(symbol: Ω).If we make an analogy to water flow through pipes, the resistor is a thin pipe that
reduces the water flow. 5.4. LED (LIGHT EMITTING DIODE) A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-
lead semiconductor light source that resembles a basic pnjunction diode, except that an LED
also emits light. When an LED's anode lead has a voltage that is more positive than its cathode
lead by at least the LED's forward voltage drop, current flows. Electrons are able to recombine
with holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called
electroluminescence, and the colour of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is
determined by the energy band gap of the semiconductor.
3.4. LED (LIGHT EMITTING DIODE) A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light
source that resembles a basic pnjunction diode, except that an LED also emits light. When an
LED's anode lead has a voltage that is more positive than its cathode lead by at least the LED's
forward voltage drop, current flows. Electrons are able to recombine with holes within the
device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence, and
the colour of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy
band gap of the semiconductor.
3.5 BATTERY A lithium-polymer battery (LiPo) is a rechargeable battery that, in the case of
true LiPo, uses solid polymer for the electrolyte and lithium for one of the electrodes.
Commercially available LiPo are hybrids: gel polymer or liquid electrolyte in a pouch format,
more accurately termed a lithium ion polymer battery.
4. WORKING
Circuit of a compact and true solid-state automatic lawn light is described here. The circuit can
be used to switch on incandescent garden light bulbs at desk and switch off them at dawn. A 10
mm encapsulated light dependent resistor (LDR) here works as the twilight detector. The whole
circuit can be housed in a very small plastic cabinet. For powering the circuit AC household
supply is needed. With a little skill and patience, you can easily modify this circuit to drive a
number of white LED strings, instead of the incandescent bulb load at the output. When
ambient light is normal, transistor T1 is reverse biased by the low resistance of LDR. Multiturn
plastic trimpotP1 sets the detection sensitivity. If ambient light dims, transistor T1 turns on to
drive the triac T2. Now the lamp load at the output of T2 energizes. When the ambient light
level restores, circuit returns to its idle state and light(s) switched off by the circuit.
5. APPLICATION