Background
A state municipal corporation wanted to automate around 26,000 street lights in it municipality. These were pre-installed street lights.The idea was to operate street lights without needing a dedicated staff.
Problem statement
The state municipal corporation wanted to automate lights such that they would have schedules for operation, faulty light detection, and events & alerts for various parameters. The requirement was for 10,000 street lights.
Deployed solution
They deployed solution had single and three phase feeder panels, that would connect to the Internet to give remote monitoring and control capabilities. The connection backbone used was GPRS.
How the solution is innovative
The solution is retrofit in nature and works with existing streetlights. The components of the solution include:
Feeder panel
The feeder panel can control either single or three phases at a time. On board storage allows the feeder panel to store data collected from each phase, alerts & events detected, and the schedules set by supervisor. This helps in eliminating the need for continuous Internet connection for the solution to work. The feeder panel also houses energy meters per phase, in order to keep track of how much energy is being consumed.
Cloud application
The cloud application is used by the supervisor to remote monitor and control the street lighting solution. The cloud application can be used to switch the street lights ON and OFF. It also helps to understand how many faulty lights are present on every phase. Events and alerts like feeder panel tamper, electricity theft, and power outage are given to the supervisor. The cloud application also maintains historic data of each feeder panel for pattern mining.
How the solution is disruptive
The solution is currently being used in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh to control a total of 10,000 street lights, using just 350 such feeder panels. The solution works on pre-set schedules without having continuous Internet connection. The solution works on Panchang calendar to switch the lights ON and OFF depending upon the sunset and sunrise timings. The solution also sends SMS to the supervisor in case of alerts like power outage, MCB trip and feeder panel tamper.
Future direction
The municipal company is now looking into automating the remaining 16,000 streetlights in their jurisdiction. Depending upon the performance of this solution, the contract will be awarded to Maven, and its partners.
The solution is completely aligned with the smart city initiative launched in India. As newer streetlights get installed, solutions for remote monitoring and control will gain importance. The technology will mature to individual light control using cloud applications.
