Smart Street Light System: Architecture, Working Principle, Applications

Smart Street Light System is an intelligent Street Lighting Control System which uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to deliver automated services. This post will discuss in detail about what is Smart Street Light System, it’s architecture, how it works, its applications, advantages and disadvantages.

What is Smart Street Light System 

Street lighting is a community service that consumes a major chunk of energy resources. Research shows that 18% – 38% of power resource goes toward fulfilling this need. With the rise in demand for power and significant gap between demand and supply, issues such as power outages and unoptimized usage like bright street lights in low footfall areas lead to substantial wastage. There is a need to optimize the consumption using Smart Street Light without compromising the safety of the citizens.

Fig. 1 – Introduction to Smart Street Light System

The Internet of Things (IoT) primarily enables the concept of Smart Street Lights by collecting different types of electronic data from different physical devices using sensors and supplying information to the devices. By this, the expense spent on street lights can be significantly reduced and the amount saved can be invested in other development of the nation.

IoT is an advanced automation system that uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology to deliver automated services. IoT is used in several applications. To name a few smart cards, smart roads, smart home, smart kitchen, smart parking, smart lighting. The several issues encountered with the current manual street light system such as connectivity issues, timing, and maintenance problem can be resolved using IoT technology. The technology works on automation that simplifies various manual effort.

Fig. 2, shows representation of Smart Street Lighting. When the object comes closer to the light pole, the light gets brighter and gets dim when the object moves away from the pole.

Fig. 2 – Smart Street Light (a) Bright Light  (b) Dim Light

Architecture of Smart Street Light System

The components that form a Smart Street Light System are:

• LDR Input
• IR Sensor
• LED
• UART

LDR Input

A Light Dependent Resistors (LDR) are light-sensitive devices, also known as photo-resistors that work based on electromagnetic radiation. They induce high resistance as they are made up of semiconductor materials. It works on the principle of Photo-Conductivity. When the light falls on the LDR, its resistance drops and current flows into the base of the first and second resistors respectively. When LDR is kept in dark, the resistance is quite high.

IR Sensor

Infrared Sensor is an electronic instrument that is used to sense characteristics of its surrounding by detecting infrared radiation. These sensors can detect motion and also the heat of the surrounding objects. Wavelengths are longer than visible light wavelengths in the infrared radiation region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The IR Sensor has LED and Receiver. It detects when the object comes closer and sends response to Arduino.

LED

Light Emitting Diode is a two-lead semiconductor light source. These diodes represent the lighting system in the Smart Street Light. The amount of light emitted by it is directly related to the surrounding light. Relay is used to switch ON/OFF the street light bulb.

UART

Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter is the microchip that controls the computer’s interface to the attached Street Light System.

Fig. 3 – Architecture of Smart Street Light System

How does Smart Street Light System Work

In this Smart Street Light System, the street lights are automatically turned ON and OFF. The traditional HID lamps that draw an enormous amount of energy are now replaced with LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes). LED’s consume low power and work effectively when coupled with LDR which enables the intensity variation of lights. LED’s are directional light sources and optimize the efficiency of street lights as they emit light in a specific direction.

The street lights work automatically by detecting the movements of objects on the street. IR sensor is used to detect the object. The system also includes a DHT11 Temperature-Humidity sensor that provides exact information on the temperature and humidity of the region. DHT11 is a sensor that contains a digital output of the temperature and humidity. The LDR sensor and IR sensors are used to sense the light intensity and the objects of particular area. It then transmits the data to the base station where energy gets stored using wireless technology.

Fig. 4 – Working Principle of Smart Street Lighting

The Smart Street Light System proposes the installation of the wireless system to remotely control and track the consumption of energy of the street lights. This helps take appropriate measures and reduce energy consumption using power conditioning and control.

The system must be installed on the light pole. It consists of a Microcontroller, various sensors, and a wireless module. The controller installed on the pole senses the object and the temperature around the region and controls the intensity of LED’s accordingly. The Smart System can be operated both manually and automatically. The control system automatically switches ON and OFF the streetlights at appropriate timing and by varying the intensity as required.

Applications of Smart Street Light system

The applications are:

• Smart Street lights could be equipped with Radar Sensors which could detect if any object comes near the pole and the light gets brighter.
• It could act as a hub for smart applications.
• It could also be equipped with charging station for electric vehicles.
• It is also used for digital signage.

Advantages of Smart Street Light system:

The advantages include:

• Automatic switching ON and OFF of street lights.
• Cost-effective.
• Wireless communication.
• Power saving.
• Reduction in CO₂ emission and hence reduction in light pollution.

Disadvantages of Smart Street Light System:

The disadvantages include:

• Implementation cost is high.
• In case of defect or repair, troubleshooting of the system is complex.
• System is prone to damage by environmental conditions.

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