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Remote Power Management: IoT for Street Lights


Source:http://www.centrinity.com

While I was running for my life, after I exited the Lekki Treadmill and jogged into Alexander Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria, I came across a 20ft "portakabin" container that seems to be someone's place of abode. I figured out that he is the one manning the generator that powers the street lights for Alexander/Bourdillon roads.

I thought to myself, what if this man's job can be performed by a series of IoT devices and this man can be gainfully employed somewhere else which will allow him sleep comfortably in a bed under a real roof.

What does he do?
  • He switches on the generator when there is no public power and switches off the generator when he is aware that public power has been restored
  • He switches on (or ensures this) street light when it is dark  
  • he is the first responder if there is an issue on site
However, let us evaluate replacing that function totally with IoT devices:

Automatic Generator Start/Shutdown:
A pair of Contactors can be connected with common output but one connected to public mains and the other to generator. Each contactor will be activated by a relay loaded by a Raspberry Pi. The various outputs can be sampled using an AC Stepdown/regulator DC Output down to 3.3vDC that the RPi can handle in its GPIO pins. Next program the RPi using Python scripts to determine when power source is available or otherwise and send signals to generator to start up.
Great thing is also that the system can also log when the power failed, when generator was switched on and for how long.

Switching on Street Light:
This is rather a simpler function. An LDR circuit can be connected to a relay to determine when light intensity gets low. However, can we put in more intelligence? Can the LDR circuit be connected to the RPi instead? Then we can make decisions like: if it gets dark but it is not evening yet, do not switch on the street light; Switch on the light once it is 7pm whether it is dark or not. Python to the rescue!

What else can go wrong?
  • Is there sufficient diesel in the generator? or what is the quantity of diesel in the generator?
  • how long has the generator been used relative to PHCN?
  • Is the diesel being stolen or leaking from the tank?
  • What is the temperature in the generator room?
  • A street light bulb is burnt and need to be replaced?
  • Is someone in the control room that need not be there?
These and many more are potential problems that the RPi based solution can help solve. With a single control center, you can monitor all the street lights in a city with the IoT devices bringing you live data, audio and video feed especially if you have a 4G data connectivity which provides sufficient bandwidth for the data transfer.

Imagine it, we build it. IoT makes remote monitoring and administration possible.

Do share your own IoT ideas in the comments section.

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