Hampton, Va.-based AdaptivEnergy, for example, makes devices that harvest energy from vibrations.
It's one of several companies working on applying energy harvesting technologies and wireless communications to a variety of products aimed at markets from the military to households (see Tiny Batteries Get Better). Its kinetic energy capturing technology is also being used by Verve Living Systems, which demonstrated its own wireless light switch at the West Coast Green building show in September. (For video of how the switches work, click here).ĮnOcean, a Siemens spinoff, has also developed ways to capture energy from heat differentials, for example, between a hot pipe and the cold outside air. The subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics says its new light switches can capture the energy of being pressed to send wireless signals to turn lights on and off. Hold the switch down, and it will dim lights.īy slapping the switches (now available only with an order with Ledalite lights) onto any available surface, builders can save the hassle of tearing open walls to string new wiring for lighting retrofits, or up to 30 percent of the copper wiring normally required for a new facility, the company says.Īnd to save energy automatically, Ledalight has separate wall-mounted light sensors that can capture energy with tiny photovoltaic cells and sense how much sunlight is in a room to dim or turn off lights accordingly.īoth devices use technology from EnOcean, a German company that specializes in energy harvesting – capturing power from the environment. That's the premise behind the Airwave lighting controls from Ledalite Architectural Products. (For more information of our range products and parameters of smart solar controller, please check our products page, there is much more surprises you are going to see).There's enough energy in your fingertip to save a bundle on wiring. below 5v to switch on and above 5v to switch off), the micro-controller in the controller will automatically turn on/off the electronic switch to turn on/off the solar street light.Ī lot of tests and experiences tell that solar charging voltage at 5v is the right moment to switch on/off the lights, it has been a standard value for solar controllers and photo-controller devices.Īt ANETHIC, we provide much flexible solutions for all these parameters, you can even determine them yourself to make your very personal decisions. When the charging voltage determined with a certain value (e.g. Solar street light turn on and off automatically, how does it work?īack to the solar panel itself that the silicon chips integrated with the solar panel are photosensitive electronic components, and there is no need to add an extra light sensor. Solar street light all in one Lightgogo 4 installation in a traditional village of France The solar charge controller places a very important role to take care of the charging and discharging, but also the "brain" of the solar system, which takes care of the switching on/off, working time, and light power management. Solar street lights are generally composed of four major parts: solar panel, battery, LED lamp head, and solar charge controller. The good thing is that the development of the single-chip computer has been fully equipped to complete this task brilliantly. So the solar led street lamp needs an auto switch function, otherwise, it will lose the meaning of solar energy.
If the switch is set up uniformly, then these two costs are spent as usual (of course, the cable can be changed to a thinner signal line). The biggest advantage of solar streetlight is the elimination of buried wires, which can save the 2 major costs of digging and filling the ground, and purchasing cables. Solar street lights generally do not require a separate timing switch, because the controller can do a better job of switching the lights on and off automatically. Charging voltage increases as the light intensity rises, and decreases as light intensity decreases. Therefore the brightness of the sunshine determines the charging voltage of the solar charger controller. The output voltage (or charging voltage) of the solar panel determines the switching on/off operation, and the brightness of the sunshine determines the output voltage of the solar panel. Operation principle of solar street light's switch on and off function