ENERGY MANAGEMENT
A RENEWABLE SOLUTION LIGHTS THE WAY
Jim Smyth, CEO at Airsynergy, discusses why investing in hybrid, renewable-
powered streetlights will increase the amount of energy produced from renewables, help to phase out environmentally harmful technologies, reduce maintenance costs and achieve better overall control of the street lighting environment.
The UK has been awash with clean energy projects that improve efficiency in the last decade or so, from improving a building’s installation to minimising heat loss, to adding solar panels to the roofs of buildings. However, what the UK are failing to improve upon are its streetlights, which needs to be acknowledged. There are around 56 million streetlights currently lighting up Europe, of which around 18 million were installed in the 1930’s. The UK is home to six million streetlights, and is a necessary fixture along our streets, beside our schools and playing fields and surrounding public and government buildings.
However, the current stock of UK streetlights are outdated and inefficient. It has been estimated that local authorities are spending £616million on streetlights each year. These inefficient streetlights are damaging the environment as well as our pockets. They currently account for between 15 and 30% of a local authority’s total emissions.
One solution that has been suggested is that the streetlights are turned off completely, or dimmed through the night to combat high costs and high environmental damage. However, it has been claimed that choosing to do so will have a significant impact on overall security and crime levels in the country.
RE-IMAGINING
INEFFICIENT STREETLIGHTS A safe and effective alternative to switching off or dimming the lights is for those responsible for buildings and pathways to invest in energy-
24 | TOMORROW’S FM
efficient, renewable-powered streetlights. These streetlights will often contain both a solar panel and a small duct-augmented wind turbine, which together will generate enough energy to power a range of facilities across the country.
Revolutionary, renewable-powered streetlights are able to generate reliable, renewable power thanks to their unrivalled patented technology, ensuring that power can be generated in any location imaginable. The turbine system within these renewable streetlights has the unique ability to be able to accelerate the surrounding air. This increases the blade revolutions per minute (rpm), providing a larger-than-expected power output. These innovative streetlights also contain a turbine that can ‘cut in’ sooner and increase the power output when there are low wind speeds; a critical feature that ensures reliable and powerful lighting.
Not only is this system designed to provide maximum power at all times, but it is also a system that can be installed with ease. No trenching or ducting is required for smart streetlights as they are not connected to the grid, minimising costs for building managers. Instead, the streetlights are a simple, drop-in solution that take under a week to be installed, and provides immediate, reliable power for urban environments and remote locations.
The brightness of the streetlight can also be remotely monitored to adapt to demand. In school holidays, for example, the streetlights can be turned off, and the light effectively
conserved. The same applies for playing fields. If the facility manager of the club knows that there are no games scheduled for a certain day, again the lights can be switched off. For locations that require enhanced visibility or wish to produce even more power, extra solar panels can also be added to the streetlight.
MORE THAN JUST
A LIGHT What is particularly radical about renewable-powered streetlights is that they not only generate clean, reliable power to provide light, but the excess power that is generated can be used elsewhere. Schools and colleges in particular can benefit from these streetlights, as there is the ability to monitor the renewable unit’s functionality and use it as a teaching tool. This way, students can learn more about renewable power via the energy and lighting data, whilst being able to view the benefits of renewable power up close. The excess power from renewable streetlights can also charge phones and laptops via fitted USB ports, or provide surveillance footage via fitted CCTV cameras. The applications are endless where these ground-breaking, versatile streetlights are concerned.
It is clear to see that the dominance of the old energy inefficient streetlights are dimming. Schools, public and government buildings, playing fields; all need to invest in forward-thinking streetlights that can light the way without raising emissions or bills – whilst keeping surrounding areas safe and secure.
www.airsynergy.ie twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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