Energy efficient monitoring solution for lighting systems of hazardous areas

To ensure proper lighting for improved safety and security in hazardous areas (e.g., road intersections, pedestrian crossings, bridges, or walkways), it is necessary to obtain real-time information regarding the state of lighting lamps, especially when their operating state changes. Modern lighting lamps are already equipped with suitable communication technologies, but there are many situations where simple ones are used, and investments in a complete system are prohibitive. In this research, the authors propose a flexible and cost-effective hardware solution which employs a microcontroller-based module to monitor the state of a lamp and send messages every time its state changes. The module is suitable for different types of communication technologies and may be installed with minimal or even zero intervention on the lamp power line. Two types of sensors are analyzed, as well as the possibility of powering the module from its own energy source, aiming to obtain the lowest possible energy consumption, and offering longer battery lifetimes than in the case of using the sleep mode of the microcontroller and of the communication module.