The
project is designed for LED based street lights with auto intensity control
using solar power from photovoltaic cells. As awareness for solar energy is
increasing, more and more individuals and institutions are opting for solar
energy. Photovoltaic panels are used for charging batteries by converting the
sunlight into electricity. A charge controller circuit is used to control the
charging.
Intensity
of street lights is required to be kept high during the peak hours. As the
traffic on the roads tends to decrease slowly in late nights, the intensity can
be reduced progressively till morning to save energy. Thus, the street lights
switch ON at the dusk and then switch OFF at the dawn automatically. The
process repeats every day.
High
Intensity Discharge lamps (HID) used for urban street light are based on
principle of gas discharge, thus the intensity is not controllable by any
voltage reduction method as the discharge path is broken. LED lights are the
future of lighting, because of their low energy consumption and long life they
are fast replacing conventional lights world over.
White
Light Emitting Diode (LED) can replace the HID lamps where intensity control is
possible by pulse width modulation. The intensity control helps in saving
energy during late nights while traffic density on the streets is low.
A
programmable microcontroller of 8051 family is engaged to provide different
intensities at the different times of night using PWM technique, for energy
saving for solar based system, using a charge controller for battery charging,
overload and deep discharge protection.Further
the project can be enhanced by using time programmed dusk to dawn switching
based on latitude and longitude of a specific place. It can also be interfaced
to a LDR to follow the switching operation precisely.
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