The Financial
Philips develops solar powered LED road and area lighting breakthrough
The FINANCIAL — Royal Philips Electronics has announced what is thought to be the most reliable, efficient and cost effective solar powered road lighting solution per km of road on the market today.
According to the Royal Philips Electronics, the first 500m of road has been installed in Marrakech, Morocco at the walking circuit at the Palmeraie.
This innovation has the potential to transform urban and rural life in areas of the world which do not have access to the electricity grid or where the grid is unreliable, making them safer and more productive. It will also help municipal authorities create more livable urban environments by applying new, future-proof LED lighting solutions to enhance city and rural life.
The new Philips Solar Gen2 offers a highly energy-efficient LED solution which is superior to any conventional lighting and allows for a lamp post spacing of up to 50 meters, much wider than with other solutions, while at the same time complying with stringent EU road lighting standards (ME3). By charging street lighting during the day, Solar Gen2 can also supplement the capacity of the conventional electricity grid.
In addition to the Solar Gen2 Philips has also developed an entry level range of good value cost effective Solar powered Street Lighting with low medium and high lumen packages ranging from 1500lm to 6000lm.
Both the Solar Gen2 and the entry level range solutions are of modular construction and can easily be upgraded by replacing key components such as LED light modules and drivers. In this way any investment is future proofed. In addition, Solar Gen2 includes theft prevention.
The key to the breakthrough lies in the combination of new High Brightness LEDs with unique patented optics and an intelligent controller which lies at the heart of the solution. This ensures that the maximum amount of power is transferred from the solar panels to the batteries. It also ensures that the charging and discharging of the battery happens in a smart way so as to maximize battery life and it can dim the light levels when required based on a self learning intelligence and a history log. A further benefit of the high energy efficiency is that the cost and size of the batteries, and solar panels can be reduced significantly, by as much as 50% compared to standard solutions being offered in the market today.
“We are looking to work with key partners to develop project solutions which are meaningful for communities throughout the continent” says Eric Heutinck, Philips General Manager for NW Africa. ”We need to get away from just looking at the initial cost of a component and look at the overall cost of installing, running and maintaining a solar powered road lighting solution. Today Philips is best placed to provide these solutions.”
Some 1.6 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity. At the same time for people living near the equator, darkness falls around 7pm all year round, slowing down or completely stopping many vital tasks. Philips aims to simply enhance life with light.
The Philips Cairo to Cape Town road show 2012 started in Cairo on May 14th and will make its way across eleven countries and seventeen cities in Africa. This is the first time that the road show is visiting Morocco; with stops in both Casablanca and Marrakech. During the road show, Philips is showcasing its new innovations and engaging with customers, governments, NGOs and media on topics relating to key challenges facing Africa today. Next stop is in Accra, Ghana on 14 June 2012.
