The intelligent street lighting system currently being tested by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) on its campus in the Netherlands is all set to save around 80% of the electric power presently utilized by the University on its street lighting.
The lighting system developed by Chintan Shah from TU Delft alumnus Management of Technology includes street lights with LED illumination, motion sensors, and wireless communicating facility. This idea of Shaw, to improve the energy efficiency within the university campus has won the Campus Energy Challenge in March 2010. The contest was initiated by Delft Energy to improve the energy efficiency within the campus.
The lighting system developed by Shah comprises street lights with LED illumination, movement sensors, a communication facility with a wireless system and an electronic gear to dim or bright the street light. The lighting system having the resemblance of a garden light, lights up automatically when the incorporated sensors sense the motion of an object close by. The lighting system automatically goes into the dim mode instead of a complete switch off thus using around 20% of the standard power usage if the moving object crosses the safe circle. The lights are designed to communicate system failures automatically to the control room for easy and cost -effective maintenance.
The Netherlands expends over €300 million on electric powering its street lights every year. The lights are always kept burning utilizing full power irrespective of any ones presence or benefiting some one in the area, thus releasing more than1.6 mt of carbon dioxide emissions every year. The new lighting system while cutting down the electric power usage and carbon dioxide discharges of the country by 80% also resolves the lighting pollution problem.
Source: http://home.tudelft.nl/en/