Case study of a dimmable outdoor lighting system with intelligent management and remote control

The following paper introduces the experimental development of an energy-efficient, intelligent outdoor lighting management and monitoring system with remote control. The data communication system is based on wireless personal area networks that support IP technology for connecting all nodes and network entities with a sink node which is the gateway to the remote management and monitoring service. The proposed system maintains lighting at a low level until vehicle or pedestrian motion is detected by a set of proximity sensors. In this case, the level of lighting is increased in order to provide better visibility while the area is occupied and dims to a lower level when the area is clear again. At the same time, data regarding lamp parameters like status and operation dimming level are transferred to the management system via a bidirectional channel that may receive feedback based on a certain system operation profile. The system can be easily installed over street lighting systems that use old and inefficient technologies without major cost thus, lowering energy consumption. The technologies used can make it part of a larger IP network following the concept of “internet of things” which may support smart road applications. Some aspects of the wireless communication system and experimental measurements are presented and discussed.