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Street Light Control System |
Some Things about Street Light Control System
1. Introduction
Street Light Control Systems are like smart switches for city lights. They automatically manage the lighting in streets, sidewalks, and other public areas. These systems can:
- Turn lights on and off based on daylight levels using sensors.
- Dim the lights at different times of night, saving energy.
- Monitor light performance and identify outages for faster repairs.
- Adapt lighting to specific areas or situations (e.g., brighter lights near crosswalks).
- Overall, Street Light Control Systems aim to improve efficiency, save energy, and potentially enhance public safety by keeping streets well-lit at night
2. Benefits of Street Light Control Systems
The benefits of street light controls go beyond just saving money on electricity bills. They also significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This is achieved by preventing unnecessary lighting through targeted dimming in specific areas or for individual lights.
Advancements in technology are making these systems increasingly common. By understanding how street lights function, control systems can now:
- Automate turning lights on and off based on daylight levels.
- Set dimming levels to adjust brightness for different times of night.
- Monitor street light data to identify outages and track energy consumption.
These control systems offer a range of functionalities:
Remote management: Switch and dim lights for entire projects, groups of lights, or individual fixtures, maximizing energy savings while maintaining essential illumination.
Scenario control: Program street lights to operate based on specific situations, ensuring unattended operation.
Data collection: Gather and upload data like voltage, current, energy consumption, and even trigger alarms for potential issues. This data can be analyzed to generate maintenance reports and alert crews to problems.
Future potential: Street light control systems can be integrated with additional technologies like traffic monitoring cameras or environmental sensors for even smarter city management.
3. Photocell switch control system
3.1. Standard photocell switch
One common method for street light control is the photocell switch. This uses a light-sensitive resistor to automatically adjust lighting based on ambient light.
When sunlight hits the photocell, its resistance decreases, completing a circuit and turning off the street light.
Conversely, when it's dark and the photocell resistance increases, the circuit opens, turning the street light on.
While photocells significantly reduce energy consumption, they have limitations : Occasional flashes from lightning or car headlights can trick the sensor, causing the light to turn off momentarily.
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Smart Street Lighting : Standard photocell switch |
3.2. Photocell switch with timing dimming
Photocell technology has evolved to include dimming functions. This allows LED street lights to automatically:
Turn on and off based on ambient light levels.
Adjust brightness to a pre-set level (like 50%) during specific hours (e.g., after midnight).
This combined approach offers efficient lighting control. For a detailed explanation of timing dimming, please refer to the "timing dimming" section.
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4. Timing dimming control system
This is a diming characteristic which could change the output of LED street lighting throughout the night.
Traditionally the LED driving force is with a preset software. For instance, we set the LED driver as follows, 100% operating for 5 hours, 70% working for the following 4 hours, then 50% working for the subsequent 2 hours.
5. Conclusion
Combining photocell switching with dimming functionality offers a compelling solution for street light control. While it lacks the monitoring and real-time alerts of a full smart system, it excels in both energy savings and cost-effectiveness. This is due to lower initial LED lamp costs and reduced maintenance needs. For projects prioritizing energy-efficiency and affordability, this approach delivers significant benefits, even if it sacrifices some of the advanced features of a smart system.
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