1. A U TO M AT I C S O L A R
S T R E E T L I G H T
2. INTRODUCTION
This project is based on the idea of maintaining maximum utilization and minimum loss of available
energy. The plenty of solar energy available during the day time is stored in a solar cell and the
stored energy is used to glow the street lights during the whole night. Also the system provides a
power saving mode of operation by adapting the method of automation. A dark sensor and a light
sensor provides the automatic “ON”/”OFF” facility to the street lights, so that it will glow
automatically when it is required(i.e. when the surrounding will be dark) and it will be turned “OFF”
automatically if sufficient light is available in the surrounding. Again the auto intensity control
mechanism has been applied by the help of a microcontroller to control the light intensity of the
luminaries as per the requirement. Hence the loss of energy due to unnecessary glow of the street
lights can be avoided.
3. INTRODUCTION (CONTINUED)
Electric street light consumes 114 TW h annually, leading to the emission of 69 million tones of
CO2. By PV (Photovoltaic) effect the solar radiation can be directly converted into electrical
energy. This energy is stored in a rechargeable battery and supplied to the luminary when it is
required to glow. The system is designed to provide an automatic control facility. This control may
be of three types. First one is optical control method, by using light/dark sensor the street lights
can be automatically turn “ON” in the evening after dark turn “OFF” automatically after dawn in
the morning, but the night street lighting is too bright and also wastage of energy. Second one is
the time control method, in which the light will be glow time to time automatically as per the
adjustment and the third one is the time-optical control, in which the lights will glow
automatically from time to time with automatically controlled intensity. Thus the unnecessary
power wastage is reduced up to a large extent.
4. SOURCE OF SOLAR ENERGY
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving
technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaic’s, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt
power plants and artificial photosynthesis The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System.
It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions
in its core, radiating the energy mainly as light and infrared radiation. It is by far the most important
source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is about 1.39 million kilometers (864,000 miles), or 109
times that of Earth, and its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth. It accounts for about 99.86% of
the total mass of the Solar System. As of 2020, there are at least 37 countries around the world with a
cumulative PV capacity of more than one gig watt. By the end of 2019, a cumulative amount of 629 GW
of solar power was installed throughout the world. By early 2020, the leading country for solar power
was China with 208 GW, accounting for one-third of global installed solar capacity.
5. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
SOLAR ENERGY
1. Renewable Energy Source
2. Reduces Electricity Bills
3. Diverse Applications
4. Low Maintenance Costs
5. Technology Development
1. Cost-Weather Dependent
2. Solar Energy Storage Is Expensive
3. Uses a Lot of Space-
4. Associated with Pollution
DISADVANTAGES:-
ADVANTAGES:-
6. AUTOMATIC SOLAR STREET LIGHTING
Automatic solar street lights are gradually replacing widely used traditional public street
lights. They have a crystalline silicon solar battery to supply power, a maintenance-free
controlled battery to store electricity, a ultra-bright LED lamps as light source. And they are
controlled by a smart charging and discharging controller. The solar panel, under the control
of the intelligent controller, collects solar energy and converts it into electricity when sunrays
hit solar cells. The storage battery is charged by the solar battery in daytime, and then it
powers the LED lamp in nighttime. Controller plays a very important role in protecting storage
battery from being overcharged or over-discharged.
8. SOLAR PANELS:-
• Solar panels are those devices which are used to absorb the sun's rays and convert
them into electricity or heat.
• A solar panel is actually a collection of solar (or photovoltaic) cells, which can be used
to generate electricity through photovoltaic effect. These cells are arranged in a grid-
like pattern on the surface of solar panels.
• It may also be described as a set of photovoltaic modules, mounted on a structure
supporting it. A photovoltaic (PV) module is a packaged and connected assembly of
6×10 solar cells.
• When it comes to wear-and-tear, these panels are very hardy. Solar panels wear out
extremely slow. In a year, their effectiveness decreases only about one to two per cent
(at times, even lesser).
9. DETERMINATION AND RATING OF SOLAR
PANEL
• Solar panel power ratings
• Power tolerance
• Solar cell efficiency
• Temperature coefficient
10. 1.LED Lights:-
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source that emits light when current flows through
it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of
photons. The color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photons) is determined by the energy
required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor. White light is obtained by using
multiple semiconductors or a layer of light- emitting phosphor on the semiconductor device.
ADVANTAGES OF LED OVER OTHER LIGHTS-
• Long life. The components of an LED and the way that they generate light significantly extend the
lifespan of these bulbs.
• Energy efficiency
• High brightness and intensity
• Exceptional color range
• Low radiated heat
• Reliability
• Instantaneous illumination
11. 2.LDR:-
A Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is also called a photo resistor or a cadmium sulfide (CdS) cell. It
is also called a photoconductor. It is basically a photocell that works on the principle of
photoconductivity. The passive component is basically a resistor whose resistance value decreases
when the intensity of light decreases. This optoelectronic device is mostly used in light varying
sensor circuit, and light and dark activated switching circuits. Some of its applications include
camera light meters, street lights, clock radios, light beam alarms, reflective smoke alarms, and
outdoor clocks.
12. MOTION SENSOR:-
A motion sensor (or motion detector) is an electronic device that is designed to detect and measure
movement. Motion sensors are used primarily in home and business security systems, but they can also be
found in phones, paper towel dispensers, game consoles, and virtual reality systems. motion sensors are
typically embedded systems with three major components: a sensor unit, an embedded computer, and
hardware (or the mechanical component).
POLES:-
It is a support or the backbone of the solar street light, where the lights is placed and the combination of
both the lamp and the pole are placed beside the streets.
INTERCONNECTING CABLES:-
The cable is used to interconnect the LED, solar panel and battery box which is fixed on the top of the pole.
This cable is used to connect a Photovoltaic module to the controller, controller to the lamps, and battery.
The size and length of the cable depend on the current being carried to the LED lights and the height of the
pole.
13. APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR STREET LIGHTING
GOVERNMENT UNITS AND MUNCIPALITIES
INDUSTRIAL AND CORPORATE LIGHTING
HIGHWAY AND ROADWAYS LIGHTING
PARKING LOTS, PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS
SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, AIRPORT AND OUTDOOR SECURITY LIGHTINGS
ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR STREET LIGHTING:-
Environmental friendly
Cost effective
Imperishable source
Less maintenance
Energy-saving, pollution-reducing, money saving
DISADVANTAGES OF SOLAR STREET LIGHTING:-
Expensive than conventional lights
Risk of theft since its non-wired
Frequent checking when placed in extreme weather conditions
Replacement of batteries
15. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF OUR MODEL
In our working model, we have used components like solar panels, batteries, capacitors, IR sensor,
microcontroller, resistors, diodes and led lights. The solar panels trap the solar energy directly from
the sun and the energy trapped by the solar panels may not be the same always so we have placed a
capacitor which will maintain the energy to the required amount to charge the batteries. The excess of
energy which is trapped by the panels will be stored in the capacitors and will be used when required.
When the batteries are charged the charge is passed through the IC’s which is connected to the
microcontroller. The IC’s are connected to the microcontroller so that it will provide 5V voltage for the
working of the microcontroller. The microcontroller is connected to several varibale resistors and
diode and switches and then connected to the artificial street light. Between the connection of the
IC’s and the microcontroller the circuit is connected to the IR sensor which is used so that when some
moving object or vehicles passes through it the intensity of the street light will increase automatically
and will soon get decreased when not in much use. This helps in saving of energy and smart use of
solar street lighting. There are LED indicators in each of the circuit done so that when it glows it
indicates the the circuit is working and if in case the LED does not glow it is a indication that there is
some fault in the circuit. There is also a LED indicator in the IR sensor which indicates when a moving
body or a vehicle passes through it and it also indicates that the IR sensor is working perfectly. The
circuit ends with the artificial street light where there is a LED that glows when the circuit is complete.
16. COMPONENTS USED IN OUR MODEL
1. Solar Panel
2. Solar Rechargable Battery
3. Capacitors
4. IR Sensor
5. Resistors
6. Microcontroller
7. Diodes
8. MOSFET and Switch
9. LED Lights
10.Interconnecting wires
17. CAPACITORS:-
A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field. It is a passive electronic
component with two terminals.
IR SENSOR:-
An infrared (IR) sensor is an electronic device that measures and detects infrared radiation in its
surrounding environment In our model we have also used a IR sensor instead of motion sensor which
works when any moving object or any vehicle passes through it and it triggers the microcontroller to
increase the Intensity of the light and the light again automatically goes down when there is no use. This
helps to save energy and also acts as a smart solar lighting system.
18. 1.RESISTORS:-
A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit
element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide
voltages, In our model we have used both variable resistance as well as resistors for electrical resistance and
smooth conduction of the electrical circuit.
2.MICROCONTROLLER:-
A microcontroller (MCU for microcontroller unit) is a small computer on a single metal-oxide-
semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC) chip. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs (processor
cores) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals In our model we have used a
ATMEGA 16A microcontroller which is used as a chip which is programmed in such a way that it conrolls the
on and off and the intensity of the light. Whenever there is any movement in the IR sensor it is triggered in
the microcontroller and the microcontroller reacts to it by increasing the intensity of light as required and it
also auomatically goes down when not in use.
19. DIODES:-
A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction (asymmetric
conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the
other In our model we have used diodes for the smooth functioning of the circuit and when the current passes
through the diode it gets forward biased and thus helps in the correct working of the circuit.
MOSFET AND SWITCH:-
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET), also known as the
metal–oxide–silicon transistor (MOS transistor, or MOS), is a type of insulated- gate field-effect transistor that is
fabricated by the controlled oxidation of a semiconductor, typically silicon.
In our model we have used both MOSFET and a switch, although MOSFET also works as a switch these are
necessary elements in a circuit which helps in smooth working of the circuit and also for completion of circuit.
22. CONCLUSION
Smart solar street lights use renewable energy sources, installation is quicker, they costs
less to repair and maintain and have a longer service life than traditional on-grid lights.
In addition to sustainability and easy deployment, the financial benefits are huge. The
investment in smart solar street lighting is truly worthwhile and will generate high
returns in the future.
So far from the discussion, the effectiveness of the proposed street light model can be
considered as a best proposal from energy saving point of view. It is not only the way to
save energy but also an idea to make a proper utilization of available solar energy which
is radiating everyday without being used. Though the initial investment is very high, still
it can be considered as to be economic if we will think about a long term period,
because we are using here the solar energy, which is available free of cost. Hence after
the installation no more payment is to be given regarding electricity. Also the automatic
solar street light system is completely Noiseless, Smoke-free and free from fire hazards.
Hence it will not only save the electricity bill but also will illuminate the path in an eco-
friendly way.
