Street Lighting Simulation for Energy Efficiency Improvement

Abstract

Modernizing street lighting is a logical reaction to dynamic economic changes and energy prices. The idea for intelligent street lighting is simple, complete control over the street lights depending on the conditions. At the same time, the main objective of this system is to lower energy consumption and, consequently, less CO2 emission. The number of cities which have established new lighting systems is growing fast because it is environment-friendly and economical. Modern lighting systems have different levels of intelligence and apply different strategies for changing energy consumption patterns. The impact of changing the lighting logic is much less than using intelligent street lighting or switching from conventional lights to LEDs. However, the total energy consumption for public lighting is too high that it is worth investigating any possible way for energy efficiency improvement, even for a fraction of one percent. This research explains a simulation-based approach in three real-world implementations for energy efficiency improvement using Street Lighting Simulation. In our studies, smart street lighting provides %25 to %60 energy savings, and optimizing the lighting strategy brings up to %5 more energy efficiency.