Streetlights in New Delhi to go solar, smarter
The New Delhi Municipal Council hopes to make a difference with ‘brainy’ streetlamps that sense ambient conditions to adjust brightness, run without recharging for five days
Tenzing Lamsang, New Delhi, June 3, 2007
Source: ExpressIndia
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=239403
THE New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) aims to save electricity, become more eco-friendly, reduce power theft, and do away with some of the headache of wiring — all at one go. The civic body is planning to replace all streetlights with solar-powered ones. It will be the first in the country to go ahead with the plan on a large-scale. Already, a pilot project that began in the Chanakyapuri area in November 2006 has, despite some hiccups, proved a success. NDMC has tentatively set a 2010 deadline for replacing all streetlights.
The companies involved are manufacturers SOL India and SOL USA, and they are in talks with other bodies and discoms for similar projects. They will be taking up the NDMC project provided cost and other specifications set by the civic body are met. The solar lamps used in the new streetlights require no wires, have “mini-brains” or sensors to automatically monitor charging and brightness, and can run for five days even if the day isn’t bright — as it often happens in Delhi’s winters and monsoon.
“We have 20,000 streetlights and they are consuming a significant portion of our electricity,” said an NDMC engineer. “This system will ensure we save electricity, reduce our bills.” Said a SOL India official, “NDMC solar lamps will be our showpiece project for the rest of the capital region, and later for India.” The “brains” or controllers can be programmed to control brightness, shut down, light up, and adjust to ambient light conditions for recharging batteries. They will also track power consumption, savings, hours of use, etc.
The lamps are phosphorus-based, more eco-friendly than CFLs or the older sodium lamps. NDMC wants brighter lamps, but the company claims the in-built lenses in the casing can be adjusted to achieve greater brightness over a larger area. The cost, however, is a dampener — Rs 75,000 per piece, but the thinking at NDMC is that long-term savings could offset that.
At the NDMC control room, close to 40 per cent of the complaints relate to blackouts and short circuits. Streetlights have also failed on several occasions around