Design and Construction of an Automatic Solar Powered Security Lightning System
Chapter One
AIM AND OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this project is to develop some portable solar street lamps with the DC voltage as the source generated from the solar energy. It involves building technology that will illuminate an area; whose lamp turns ON and OFF automatically with the help of a photocell switching circuit.
CHAPTER TWO
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Back in time, the Greeks and the Romans light up their streets with oil lamp to avoid accidents on black streets. The Romans even had a specific type of slaves they referred to as a Leternarius, and this slave’s duty or sole responsibility is lighting up the oil lamp.
“Lamp lighters” were still required when gas lamps were used to light up European street in the 19th century. Lighting with gas was cheaper than lighting with oil and this helps it to take over as the fuel of choice for street lamps.
Liz kitschier wrote in her articled on solar panels being in use and developed in 1700s in France. The use of silicon-based solar cell in 1954, was figured out to harness energy in California, the sunniest of all places in USA which is the home of electric solar panels. The solar panels have been used in California. Texas and the plain states for many important things. It has been used to water crops and feed live stock where as before, farmers would have enormous energy expenses.
The sun is an energy recourse like no other, providing the sustaining power for life on earth. Harnessing the sun’s power through the use of photovoltaic (PV) collection system can create a sustainable form of clean energy and reduce demand for utility-generated electric power.
THEORY OF RESEARCH
Solar Rechargeable
These are easily characterized as either passive or active depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight.
Solar PV cells
Solar electric systems are safe, reliable, pollution free, and use renewable source of energy like the sun. Most systems have no moving parts and are increasingly easy to install.
The first solar cell was created in 1883. It was inefficient by today’s standard, converting only 1-2% of sunlight into electricity. The breakthrough in solar cell technology came in 1954 when researchers at BELL laboratories stumbled across the photovoltaic (or PV) properties of silicon while experimenting with new transistor technologies.
Three years later, PV research began in earnest to develop an independent solar energy source for space technologies. Thanks to continuing research, modern commercial PV cells have improved to 11-15% efficiency.
CHAPTER THREE
DESIGN METHODOLOGY
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT
The design of this project is a simple one which is also less cost effective. It is implemented by mounting the solar panel and battery up of the pole, the switching circuit is placed at the tip of the solar panel, so, the LDR is able to better sense light and darkness. This makes the project look neater and reduces the length of wire that would be used in connecting all the parts of the project together.
This design is unique, as it is not common to the other types which have their battery cage by the pole side or embedded in the ground. The switching circuit had the LDR placed on top of its casing to allow easy detection of darkness and brightness. The LEDs are carefully arranged on the veroboard, each veroboard has a total of 96 LEDs on it. The protective resistor is also soldered to the back of the veroboard to make the work look neater and for easy placement in light casing.
The construction of the project is carried out by weldering the battery cage to the galvanized pole and placing the solar panel support on top of the pole, making it angle directly to sun rays, the lamp is then placed in between the solar panel and the battery cage on the pole.
CHAPTER FOUR
TESTING AND DISCUSSION OF RESULT
STAGES OF DESIGN
Stage one: This involves the designs, construction and weldering operations using the poles and angle irons to build the solar brackets, battery cages, lamp arms and base plate. The solar panel bracket is 59.5 inches long while the battery casing is 14.5 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.
Stage two: this involves painting of the poles, battery casing, lamp arms, base plates and solar panel brackets with silver aluminium gloss paint as the colour of the whole construction.
It also involves the installation of the (solar panel, charge controller and battery) procedures.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY
The automatic security lighting system was designed and constructed to gain it`s power source from the sun`s energy(solar energy). this was achieved by making use of the solar panel technology which traps the sun`s energy and convert it to electrical energy. the energy is stored in a battery by a charge controller and then used by the lighting fixture(lamp) at night
The energy used by the automatic security lighting system is generated by 130w solar panel. the panel absorbs the solar energy directly from the sun, and the energy generated is controlled by a 10amps charge controller that gives out the necessary voltage value needed to charge the 100amps/12v battery. the voltage used to charge the battery is then used to power the lamp at night
CONCLUSION
The project “AUTOMATIC SOLAR POWERED SECURITY LIGHTNING SYSTEM ” has been
successfully designed and tested. Here we are saving lot of power without any wastage, by these advanced technologies we can design many more systems which can be done by solar lights and through these solar lights we have a vast usage at the same time we can do automatic systems instead of doing it manually like with ldr’s.the project has been successfully implemented.
RECOMMENDATION
I recommend that the school authorities should assist financially in project construction
REFERENCE
- battery history, technology and development.(2007) battery Mpower solutions Ltd.
- ensseler polytechnic institute.(2012) lightning research center ww.irc.rpi.edu
- CSEM-UAE innovation center LLC Case study-solar street light
- www.csem-uae.com