PRE2017 1 Groep2

Group members

• Simon Kok (0850085)
• Xueyuan Chen (0961799)
• Lennert Heijnen (0957658)
• Lisanne Grevinga (0946763)

Project definition

The current street lights are based on a system that is extremely outdated. It is possible to reduce energy consumption by large quantities by changing the entire system. This will not only be good for the environment, but it will also reduce costs over time. By creating a SMART light plan, this all is possible while increasing safety and decreasing light polution. As numerous studies have shown, different lighting conditions influence people greatly. By interpreting the results of those studies, a design will be made. The hypothetical design will be made for the residential area Meerhoven.

Objective

The different stakeholders have different objectives. It is the goal of this project to make a design that satisfies all stakeholders.

• Users: This are the people driving, walking, cycling, etc past the streetlights. Their first priority is safety and visibility.
• Society: The society can be diveded in two groups. First there is the people living in the area. Second is the municipality. For these stakeholders, it is important that it is cheap (in the long term). Other wishes could be the mood set by the lighting.
• Entrepreneurs: This are the people designing and making the SMART streetlights. For the companies, the most important is that they can make profit from the SMART streetlights.

Approach

The approach for this project is to start with literature study, to understand the influence of street lights on the objectives of the stakeholders. This research should also contain the monitoring of crowds. Other than the literature study, stakeholders can be further investigated by speaking with the municipality and with researchers of the TU/e lighting group. With the results of these studies, the design requirements can be made. With these requirements and more study into the technical aspects, a design can be made. Finally a prototype will be build in the form of software.

Research

The first research done is in the form of literature study.

Articles

• Research at the TU/e has shown that pedestrians feel safer when their direct surrounding is lit, in comparison when the areas further away are lit. This is applicible to both females and males. Furthermore, it is the result of both stationary and walking pedastrians.

• Visibility is mostly influenced by contrast. This mostly is problematic when there is oncomming traffic. To have a similar visibility, road lighting should be brighter when there is oncomming traffic.

• Switching of lights in areas in England and Wales, did not result in increased crime rates. Eventhough this study took place in other countries, it does suggest that decreasing light levels in the Netherlands, will not increase crime rates either.

• Monitoring people is a sensitive subject. Generally people dislike being monitored. Even when the data cannot trace back to the individuals being monitored. Eventhough this example is using monitoring for commercial ends, it might still be important even when safety is the goal.

Case Studies

• In the city of Los Angeles, 140,000 conventional street lights have been replaced by LED lights. Over the span of a year, these lights consumed 63% less energy. This in addition to higher reliability, reduced operating costs by 40%. In addition, crime rates in the area went down by 10%, though the study doesn't mention how they tested the correlation. It also shows that the lifespan of LED street lights are much higher than that of conventional bulbs, but again, no sources are mentioned.

• Analysis show that over a span of 20 years, approximatly €780 per light can be saved by using a networked LED system. Initial investment costs are high, however, payback time is only 6 years.