Project description
How to transform the existing stock of public lighting poles into alternative sources of renewable energy.
Goals
The project involves the realisation of ‘add-ons’, from the architecture established in the laboratory, to be applied to traditional public lighting poles served by the traditional electricity grid for the generation of additional energy to that strictly required by the individual pole’s lamp. The energy, collected from sustainable alternative sources, is channelled to integrated lithium batteries, contained in the add-on kit, which are sufficient to guarantee the necessary energy required by the lamps for standard operation (up to 8 hours of guaranteed illumination per day) during the most unfavourable periods (winter season). When the size of the batteries is exuberant compared to what is strictly required for the standard lighting function, particularly in spring and summer, the additional energy generated is channelled through the power line connected to the specific pole to the power grid (which uses it for other consumers in the area), which then acts as a high-capacity accumulator.
The VLP solution helps reduce harmful gas emissions into the atmosphere, as the massive application of this technology drastically reduces the amount of ‘dirty’ kilowatt-hours towards sustainable, clean energy. Furthermore, there is the option of increasing the performance of the VLP street lights by adding (to the already planned photovoltaic and wind generators) a mini-hydroelectric generator that allows the extraction of energy even from rain (after storing the rainwater in a special tank). The service aims to support potential customers in remote monitoring, aimed at limiting physical travel, fuel consumption and environmental impact.
