DESIGN, PROTOTYPING AND TESTING OF A HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLAR-POWERED STREET LIGHT

Abstract

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FIELDS OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES, LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LED) AND PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) MODULES IN RECENT YEARS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY BROUGHT DOWN THE COST OF SOLAR OFF-GRID SYSTEMS. ESPECIALLY LITHIUM-IRON PHOSPHATE (LIFEPO4) BATTERIES, NOTABLY USED IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES, SHOW VERY PROMISING FEATURES LIKE A HIGHER CYCLE LIFE THAN OTHER BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES AND A HIGHER ENERGY STORAGE DENSITY, WHICH MAKE THEM HIGHLY SUITED FOR USE IN STAND-ALONE SOLAR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS SOLAR STREET LIGHTS. THIS MASTER THESIS PROPOSES A NEW AND INNOVATIVE SOLAR-POWERED STREET LIGHT WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON THE DESIGN OF THE SOFTWARE, HIGHLY EFFICIENT ELECTRONICS (CHARGE CONTROLLER AND LED DRIVER) AND IP65 HOUSING WITH PASSIVE COOLING CONCEPT. IN ADDITION, RESULTS FROM THE PROTOTYPE TEST PHASE WITH 30 LAMPS IN DIFFERENT CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AROUND THE WORLD ARE REPORTED AND THE OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE BASED ON EXTRACTED VALUES FROM BUILT-IN DATALOGGERS IS EVALUATED. THE THESIS CONCLUDES