2023 IEEE International Conference on Next Generation Electronics (NEleX 2023)

Cloud-Controlled Dynamic Smart Street Lighting

System
R Rishab Sarumathi S Vignesh T A
School of Electronics Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering,
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology,
Vellore, India Vellore, India Vellore, India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Gokul Nittin A Janani Shruthi B Abhishek V

School of Electronics Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering,
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology,
Vellore Institute of Technology,
Vellore, India Vellore, India
Vellore, India
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
K Govardhan*
School of Electronics Engineering,
2023 International Conference on Next Generation Electronics (NEleX) | 979-8-3503-1908-8/23/$31.00 ©2023 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/NELEX59773.2023.10420861

Vellore Institute of Technology,

Vellore, India
[email protected]

Abstract— In this research endeavor, we introduce an in- tion sensors, and Ultrasonic sensors, which detect the mo-
novative project aimed at revolutionizing street lighting sys- tion of objects such as humans and vehicles passing
tems through cutting-edge advancements in electronics. Our through the system. As a result, the LEDs are illuminated.
primary objective is to create an efficient and sustainable The development of renewable energy technologies has
lighting ecosystem by harnessing solar energy and cloud ser-
contributed to a greater reliance on renewable energy
vices to illuminate community streets. At the core of our sys-
tem are PIR (Passive Infrared) and LDR (Light Dependent sources than traditional fossil fuels. It is proposed that street
Resistor) sensors. These advanced sensors play a crucial role lights be completely powered by solar energy by connect-
in detecting ambient lighting conditions and human motion, ing them to PV panels, which are equipped with batteries
enabling real-time and autonomous decision-making. The and a charge controller to store energy during the day and
ESP32 microcontroller, known for its computational capabil- provide it back for illumination of the streets at night[5].
ities, manages the coordination of these sensors, triggering re- By implementing an automated street light control system
sponsive actions that enhance street safety and security dur- that automatically switches on and off-street lights when it
ing nighttime. One of the key aspects of our innovation is the detects a person, as well as when the ambient light intensity
seamless integration of cloud services. This integration allows
decreases below a predetermined threshold, the workforce
us to unify our intelligent lighting infrastructure into a cohe-
sive and scalable network. Our cloud-based architecture pro- required to manually control the light drastically re-
vides unmatched flexibility and manageability, enabling duces[11]. Additionally, the cost of the workforce is signif-
stakeholders to remotely control the system, monitor energy icantly reduced, resulting in a decrease in unnecessary
consumption, and proactively address any irregularities with power consumption.
great efficiency. Our research focuses on the synergy between
photovoltaic advancements and cloud computing, promoting II. COMPONENTS USED
sustainable practices while improving urban living standards.
Our findings promise a brighter and safer future and contrib-
A. ESP-32 Microcontroller
ute to a greener and cleaner world. ESP32-DevKitC V4 is a small-sized ESP32-based
development board produced by Espressif. Most of the I/O
In conclusion, it offers a sophisticated, environmentally pins are broken out to the pin headers on both sides for easy
conscious, and resource-efficient solution with profound im- interfacing. Developers can either connect peripherals with
plications for smart cities and sustainable urban development. jumper wires or mount ESP32-DevKitC V4 on a
This paper provides a promising glimpse into the future of ur- breadboard.
ban illumination. (Abstract)
B. PIR sensor
Keywords—LDR sensor, ESP32, solar panel, street lighting, A Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor detects motion by
PIR sensor, Ultrasonic sensor, Adafruit IO. sensing changes in infrared radiation. If movement is
I. INTRODUCTION detected and the light level is low, the LED lights are turned
on.
In general, streetlights are illuminated after sun-
rise and without the presence of humans. To reduce this, an C. Ultrasonic Sensor
automatic street light management system is employed, An ultrasonic sensor measures distance by emitting ul-
which automatically turns on and off-street lights when the trasonic waves and measuring the time taken for the waves
intensity of ambient light decreases below a certain thresh- to bounce back. Their distances are measured, and if they're
old. This can be achieved through LDR sensors, PIR mo- below a certain threshold, the LEDs are turned on.

979-8-3503-1908-8/23/$31.00 ©2023 IEEE

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D. LDR(Light Dependent Resistor) significant data exchange between lighting systems installed
The Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is connected to everywhere inside and outside of buildings and a data
the microcontroller and the sensor senses ambient light lev- collection/processing device via cellular or Internet
network.
els. If the light level is low (dark environment), and it's after
10 p.m., the LEDs are turned on[4]. In the late 1990s, the first petitions for patents on
intelligent street lighting appeared. It was anticipated that
E. Solar Panel the deployment, which took place in Oslo, would save
electricity usage by 50%, increase traffic safety, and cut
A 24 V solar panel consists of multiple solar cells con- maintenance costs. By adding sensors and cameras that can
nected in series to achieve the desired voltage output. The detect movement, smart lighting may be made intelligent.
voltage generated by the panel depends on factors like the The Gunma University in Japan has presented a simpler
type and number of cells, sunlight intensity, and tempera- concept that suggests turning on and off street lighting as
ture. These panels are often used in larger solar installa- needed. Some businesses also provide wireless management
tions, where higher voltage systems are preferred to reduce and monitoring of street lighting. Clients may use a
energy losses over longer distances. They are suitable for smartphone or tablet to access control from anywhere. They
charging 24-volt battery banks commonly used in off-grid may collect information, pre-set brightness or dimness
systems, RVs, boats, and remote locations. settings, and get alerts when a light is defective through this
Efficiency, durability, and compatibility with charge con- program. In many nations, lighting the streets has used a
trollers and battery systems are essential considerations significant amount of electricity[13].
when choosing a 24V solar panel for a specific application. In recent times, smart lighting systems have drawn
F. 4-Channel Relay interest from all over the world, and several research
projects have been conducted that illustrate the potential and
A 4-channel relay is an electrical switch that controls the beneficial effects offered by smart technologies intended
multiple circuits using a single signal. It's like a remote con- to improve the management of street lamps[8][14]. These
trol, enabling devices like lights or motors to be turned on technologies provide lighting systems that can operate
or off together. Each channel acts as an independent switch, autonomously in an Internet of Things (IoT) environment
allowing versatile control in home automation, industrial by integrating WSN into street lamps. The Wireless Sensor
automation, and electronics projects. Network is a collection of small electronic devices that
include a microcontroller, an RF transceiver, and sensors. It
G. RTC (Real-Time Clock) Module
comprises three distinct types of nodes: coordinator, router,
This module helps keep track of the current time and and terminal. Coordinator nodes are located on lamp poles,
date, even when the power is turned off. The RTC_DS3231 while router and terminal nodes are kept in the vicinity of a
class is used to manage the module. The RTC adjust (Date monitoring centre. These nodes can communicate with each
Time (2023, 8, 13, 22, 47, 0)); and sets the initial date and other through dedicated protocols. The WSN employs a
time. linear topology, which divides the network into multiple
strip-type sensor networks due to the large number of street
III. LITERATURE REVIEW lamps located near the roads. A dense sensor network must
LED lighting driven by the sun has several advantages be installed in order to collect data on many aspects, such as
for the environment and human health. Kerosene lamp environmental light levels, movement detection, and human
combustion, which is still widespread in many nations, presence[2].
results in several emissions, including black carbon, which
is directly linked to climate change and is a major
contributor to global warming[12]. Black carbon emissions
alone account for 240 million tons of CO2 annually.
Compared to its wired equivalents that are linked to the
mains, solar-powered LED street lighting requires far less
maintenance and is simpler to install[3].
The cost of installing new solar lights is often more than
that of underground cables, on-site transformers, and
electrical enclosures. In comparison to traditional lamps,
LED bulbs require fewer replacements, may be dimmed,
and result in considerable energy savings[10].
Fig 1(Work Overflow)
When sunlight strikes the top surface of the solar cells
inside the PV module, the photovoltaic conversion process The emergence of new LED-based facilities composed
transforms it into DC power[1]. When the sun is shining, the of interconnected light points will transform into data
produced power may either be utilized right away or it can collection platforms, allowing for an increase in energy and
be saved in storage batteries for later use. Therefore, solar lighting savings in intelligent buildings and cities[9]. The
panels capture solar energy and transform it into electric collection and exchange of useful data, utilizing the
energy, which is then utilized to light street lamps at night. capabilities of the Internet of Things (IoT), will provide a
This electric energy is stored in a battery during the day. It broad range of services, advantages, and new sources of
is anticipated that the integration of SSL technology with revenue that will increase the financial value of lighting
low-cost sensors, smartphones, and Internet of Things- plants. EnGo, a renowned manufacturer of lighting
based devices will enable new lighting functionalities and

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equipment, offers cutting-edge, multifunctional solutions high to detect the pulse returning to indicate the presence
powered by renewable energy sources. These solutions can of the object. The maximum range of an ultrasonic sensor
be used to illuminate streets, parkways, parking garages, is 400cm and the maximum angle it can detect an object is
and corporate and university campuses, and to create 15º. The PIR sensor has a doom-shaped structure over the
attractive and contemporary visual environments. sensor to receive the maximum amount of data. PIR sensor
Additionally, energy and maintenance costs are reduced due has a good range of detection where it can detect motion up
to the lower installation, installation, and maintenance costs to 7m. The movement detection in our project is correlated
associated with renewable energy diffusion. Furthermore, with both the sensor’s data and when movement is sensed,
the use of kinetic energy tiles can be demonstrated, as they
the nearest streetlight is activated, and subsequent lights
are recovered from the footsteps of pedestrians to power
both before and after the nearest lights are triggered, ensur-
LED street lamps
ing a well-lit path for individuals or vehicles passing
A. Contemporary challenges: through the street. This smart system optimizes energy us-
Poor quality street lighting requires frequent mainte- age while providing effective lighting based on environ-
nance and replacement, which not only impacts the safety mental conditions and human activity. This system gets
of the public but also increases the cost of urban construc- triggered and the streetlights are lit only when human
tion [9]. The world's energy consumption is growing at the movement is detected or if there is vehicle movement de-
fastest rate due to population and economic growth, while tected else the system ensures only 50% of the streetlights
the availability of energy resources remains low. The in- are lit making sure there is reduce in energy consumption
crease in demand for energy has not kept up with the in- by 50%.
crease in supply, resulting in serious energy shortages.
Streetlights are installed on all major roads and in the
suburbs and are powered from sunup to sundown at full
power, even when no one is around. Millions of dollars are
spent on these street lights every day to provide the electri-
cal power they need. Conventional incandescent bulbs re-
quire a lot of electricity to work, and their energy consump-
tion is also very high [13]. This increases the energy de-
mand, which in turn leads to an increase in carbon dioxide
emissions [12].
IV. METHODS
Our idea is to convert conventional streetlights to auto-
matic and dynamic streetlights which respond to real-time
actions based on sensor inputs. This includes the integra-
tion of a variety of sensors such as LDR sensors, PIR sen- Fig 2(Prototype Model)
sors, and Ultrasonic sensors integrated with a Real-Time
Clock module, and an IoT-capable microcontroller into a This research focuses on different modes of operation
single system. All of these sensors are integrated into a mi- in the Smart Street Lighting system. The Smart Street light-
crocontroller, known as ESP32-DevKitC product from Es- ing system operates in three different modes: Daylight
pressif, which is the active module of the system. Addition- Mode, Evening Mode, and Night Mode. When the light is
ally, the system is equipped with multi-level failure-pre- operating in daylight mode all street lights are turned off
vention mechanisms to ensure optimal and dependable op- during the day, with the LDR sensor as the only active com-
eration. The primary source of power for the system is an ponent. During the Daylight mode, the solar panel charges
array of pole-mounted Solar panels with a battery. This sys- the battery for which the light can function without any in-
tem is also backed up with electric power from the regular terruption in the evening when there is no sufficient natural
transformer line. The system includes a Light Dependent light. In the event of sudden darkness due to factors such as
Resistor (LDR) that detects decreasing natural light levels, rain, the switch to Evening Mode is triggered by the LDR
prompting the streetlights to switch on. The LDR sensor is sensor. When the light goes less than the set threshold the
integrated with the microcontroller. We set an amount of system automatically activates evening mode. The data re-
threshold based on the LDR value at the time when suffi- ceived from the LDR sensor is verified with the time con-
cient natural light isn’t present. Additionally, there's a Real- trolled by the RTC module. If the time is less than 10 pm
Time Clock (RTC) module to detect the time. If the LDR then all the lights are switched ON just as similar as regular
threshold is less than the set threshold and the RTC module streetlights. As the time is past 10 pm the system switches
time correlates to be greater than 10 pm then the microcon- to the Night Mode [6]. During the night mode, the ultra-
troller triggers odd-numbered streetlights to illuminate at sonic sensor and the PIR sensor are in an active state that
10 pm and after 10 pm. The system also incorporates Ul- helps in motion detection and the distance between the ob-
trasonic and Passive Infrared (PIR) sensors to detect move- ject and the pole. The complete system is operated using
ment. The PIR sensor operates on repeated trigger mode to an ESP-32 microcontroller. We use a 4-channel relay to
reduce the delay of motion detection. The ultrasonic sensor power the lights using a microcontroller.
sends 8-cycle ultrasonic bursts to detect the presence of the
object and the distance at which the object is present. Im-
mediately after 8 cycles of pulses, the echo pin becomes

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 Fig 5(Website Data in Dark Mode)

The website is built using a HTML, CSS and JavaS-

cript. The website will cater to users from various operating
systems. This app focuses on user experience and is func-
Fig 3(IoT Establishment) tional for the user base. The website will feature visual el-
ements to facilitate interaction easily. It is built to work in
Night mode is an essential feature, as it reduces power both light and dark mode. The admin will have control and
consumption by allowing only alternative streetlights to be vigilance over all the lights and sensors data which ensures
illuminated. This means that, for example, lamps One, smooth and error-free operation. It features the display of
Three, Five, or Two, Four, and Six are activated based on current status of the lights and the sensor data in a panel.
sensor inputs. As people approach the lamp, the ultrasonic
and PIR sensors in the pole detect their presence and move-
A. Advantages of the proposed system:
ment, which triggers the powering of lamps One and Two.
As they move closer to the lamp, the sensor in Lamp Pole The proposed system offers a multitude of advantages
2 detects their presence and activates lamps One, Two, and that significantly enhance urban living and environmental
Three. This sequence of events ensures that the area in sustainability[1]. One of its key features is the automatic
front, close to, and behind the person is effectively illumi- switching of street lights, ensuring that illumination is
nated. This advanced data processing and control system provided precisely when needed, and optimizing energy
improves energy efficiency and provides optimal street usage. This leads to substantial energy savings and a
lighting. considerable reduction in maintenance costs, as the system
efficiently manages the operation of street lights,
minimizing wear and tear[14]. Moreover, the reduction in
CO₂ emissions is a pivotal environmental benefit,
contributing to mitigating climate change[12].
Additionally, the system plays a crucial role in minimizing
light pollution, preserving the natural nighttime
environment, and promoting the well-being of both humans
and wildlife. Furthermore, by automating the street lighting
process, the system reduces the need for extensive
manpower, leading to operational efficiency and cost-
Fig 4(Website Homepage in Light Mode)
effectiveness[7]. In essence, the proposed system not only
The integration of IoT functionality into this system revolutionizes urban lighting management but also
guarantees a smooth and efficient collection of data from champions environmental conservation and economic
different sensors. Developers can access sensor data via prudence.
cloud services. We have used MQTT protocol-based IOT
V. CONCLUSION
data transfer to have an efficient and seamless transfer of
data to the cloud. We have integrated our device with Ada- This paper provides an advanced, automated, and
fruit IO to store data and monitor the data produced by the interactive street lighting solution that operates in response
sensors. Using IOT cloud it enables to monitor the function- to user actions in real-time. This system is equipped with
ing of the sensors as well as monitor which light is glowing photovoltaic panels, and a variety of sensors and integrated
at what time. Due to this cloud, it helps us understand which with Internet of Things (IoT) technology to store and access
sensor is faulty or which light is faulty. This process makes the data collected from sensors. The data can be used to
it easy to analyse and rectify the faulty elements of the sys- monitor, analyze, and manage the system device's perfor-
tem and resolve issues more smoothly with low mainte- mance through cellular or internet networks. To further en-
nance and easy optimization of the cloud data. This hance the system's functionality, it is accompanied by a
integration is proof of its transparency, operating across the website that provides users with convenient access and val-
Internet through a combination of cutting-edge hardware
uable information. The system can operate in a variety of
and technology, ensuring that sensor data is readily
modes, such as daylight, evening, and night, and can switch
available for monitoring, analysis, and control, thus
enhancing overall system performance and effectiveness. to the desired mode in real-time based on active triggers.
This not only reduces energy consumption but also contrib-
utes to a decrease in carbon emissions, thus promoting en-
vironmental sustainability.

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to [10] K. Arun Bhukya, S. Ramasubbareddy, K. Govinda,
the Dean, HOD, and Sense School department for their un- and T. Aditya Sai Srinivas, “Adaptive Mechanism for
wavering support and guidance throughout our research Smart Street Lighting System,” Smart Intelligent Compu-
project. Their encouragement, expertise, and provision of ting and Applications, pp. 69–76, Oct. 2019, doi:
necessary resources and facilities have been instrumental in https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9690-9_8.
shaping our understanding of the subject matter and in
helping us to produce a high-quality research paper. We are [11] P. Mohandas, J. S. Anni, and X.-Z. Gao, “Artificial
particularly grateful to the Dean for fostering a vibrant re- Neural Network based Smart and Energy Efficient Street
search environment at Sense School and to the HOD for Lighting System: A Case Study for Residential area in
their invaluable mentorship. Finally, we thank the Sense Hosur,” Sustainable Cities and Society, Apr. 2019, doi:
School department for creating a supportive and stimulat- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101499.
ing research atmosphere.
[12] A. Omar et al., “Smart City: Recent Advances in In-
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