New tech to regulate street light brightness, save energy

A new technology has been devised to automatically regulate the brightness of street lights as per the volume of traffic passing underneath them, saving energy in the process.

Scientists of CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute in West Bengal's Durgapur have named their innovation 'Smart Dimmable LED Street Lighting Technology', a release from the institute said on Tuesday.

The technology increases the brightness of street lights when a pedestrian, bicycle or car is passing underneath them and returns to the dim state in the absence of any commuter, it said.

It works in a combination of advanced motion sensors and dimmable LED drivers, the statement said.

Director of CSIR-CMERI, Prof Harish Hirani, said the institute had implemented the technology on a pilot basis on 50 street lights in its residential colony, finding up to 60 per cent energy savings as compared to conventional LED street lights.

The new technology will also alert the maintenance engineer concerned through SMS about any malfunctioning street light, he said.

This technology is configurable to work in stand-alone as well as in networking mode and can be combined to work with CSIR-CMERI's Solar Tree Technology, Hirani added.