Smart, Hybrid, Grid-Connected Exterior Lighting Systems.
The project develops and demonstrates technology focused on hybrid power (solar and grid-tied) exterior Light Emitting Diode (LED) area light system using a unique wrap-around solar panel with embedded sensors, controls and monitoring in the
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Recipient
Palo Alto, CA
Recipient Location
13th
Senate District
23rd
Assembly District
$385,442
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project is active and on track. Prototype fixture is complete and currently being tested at EPRI's labs. Installations in all six demonstration sites is scheduled for summer of 2024.
The Issue
The vast majority of street, parking and exterior lights in CA are grid connected and operated in an ON / OFF function using photocells/ time clock combination and do not offer an alternate source of power in case of emergency such as PSPS events, and do not offer load shifting to help with the evening ramp. With the electrification of energy use in CA, electric vehicles may likely add significant overnight load during the same hours that exterior lights are operating. Since there is little renewable energy available at night, it is imperative that all nighttime load be decreased as much as possible or shifted to periods of high renewable energy availability.
Project Innovation
This project aims to design, develop and demonstrate a hybrid power (solar, battery and grid-tied) exterior LED luminaire system using a unique wrap-around solar panel with embedded sensors, controls and monitoring in the luminaire. This system could improve safety in parking lots in low-income communities and benefit California rate payers via lower energy cost and reduce nighttime grid energy consumption.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
This Agreement may result in ratepayer benefits through developing a product that can remove most of the exterior area lighting load from the grid. This may be especially useful during peak hours (5-9 pm) during winter, early spring and late fall. This should help utilities lower costs on overnight generation. If this technology is deployed for all outdoor lighting in CA, an estimated 4,000 GWh of electricity could be offset per year which equates to 132,000 tons of CO2 emission reduction.
Safety
A hybrid exterior luminaire powered by both the utility grid and the integrated batteries will provide added safety, reliability and security during fires or emergency shut off events such as PG&E's PSPS program. Powering the fixture using integrated Photovoltaics and batteries will significantly reduce grid energy consumption and reduce energy cost by more than 80 percent.
Key Project Members
Sara Beaini
Subrecipients
Redwood Energy, LLC
Match Partners
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
ClearWorld
