Design and Performance Evaluation of Energy-Efficient Smart Streetlights in Rural Communities in Countries with Limited Resources
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866901088433602560 |
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| author | Seunghan Lee |
| author_facet | Seunghan Lee |
| contents | Rationale: Many countries with limited resources suffer from persistent long-standing deficiencies in nighttime street lighting, particularly in rural and peri‑urban communities where grid infrastructure is insufficient or unreliable. The absence of illumination intensifies traffic hazards, reduces walkability, and limits commercial activity after dusk, while perceived darkness can correlate with opportunity crimes and fear of being victims. Methods: This study reports the design, and engineering evaluation of a low‑cost solar smart streetlight that integrates four vertically mounted photovoltaic panels combined in parallel connection for a 12 V battery subsystem, and an Arduino‑based control unit for adaptive lighting. The study established two off-grid solar streetlight control architectures: a high-current Arduino Mega–based system and an ultra-low-power Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense Rev2 system. Through a series of DI-256 instrumented recordings across the day–night cycles, the electrical behavior of both systems was analyzed, including battery voltage response, solar panel activation, Solar Charge Controller (SCC) mode transitions, MOSFET switching behavior, and PIR-triggered load activation. Results: It shows that the Mega system exhibits rapid nighttime battery depletion, SCC low-voltage lockouts, unstable MOSFET activation, and excessive energy consumption (~18.5 Wh per night) despite its promising functional expandability. In contrast, the Nano system demonstrates excellent nighttime survivability, extremely low energy consumption (~1.2 Wh), stable 5 V logic rail regulation, and clean MOSFET switching with minimal battery disturbance. The Nano architecture maintained full operational continuity through sunrise, dusk, and PIR events without instability. These findings establish the Nano-based design as a highly efficient, robust, and field-ready architecture suitable for solar lighting deployments. Further, simulated deployment demonstrated 35–45% energy savings relative to fixed‑output systems while satisfying average illuminance targets and maintaining >10 h nighttime security under typical day-night insolation. Conclusion: This research demonstrates that sensor‑controlled solar streetlights, engineered with budget components, can deliver reliable, energy‑efficient lighting for underdeveloped areas and provide a replicable blueprint for broader deployment in data‑underserved, resource‑limited communities. |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19205111 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Design and Performance Evaluation of Energy-Efficient Smart Streetlights in Rural Communities in Countries with Limited Resources Seunghan Lee Solar Smart Streetlight Arduino-Based Control System Energy Efficiency Optimization Off-Grid Renewable Lighting Low-Power Embedded Systems Rationale: Many countries with limited resources suffer from persistent long-standing deficiencies in nighttime street lighting, particularly in rural and peri‑urban communities where grid infrastructure is insufficient or unreliable. The absence of illumination intensifies traffic hazards, reduces walkability, and limits commercial activity after dusk, while perceived darkness can correlate with opportunity crimes and fear of being victims. Methods: This study reports the design, and engineering evaluation of a low‑cost solar smart streetlight that integrates four vertically mounted photovoltaic panels combined in parallel connection for a 12 V battery subsystem, and an Arduino‑based control unit for adaptive lighting. The study established two off-grid solar streetlight control architectures: a high-current Arduino Mega–based system and an ultra-low-power Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense Rev2 system. Through a series of DI-256 instrumented recordings across the day–night cycles, the electrical behavior of both systems was analyzed, including battery voltage response, solar panel activation, Solar Charge Controller (SCC) mode transitions, MOSFET switching behavior, and PIR-triggered load activation. Results: It shows that the Mega system exhibits rapid nighttime battery depletion, SCC low-voltage lockouts, unstable MOSFET activation, and excessive energy consumption (~18.5 Wh per night) despite its promising functional expandability. In contrast, the Nano system demonstrates excellent nighttime survivability, extremely low energy consumption (~1.2 Wh), stable 5 V logic rail regulation, and clean MOSFET switching with minimal battery disturbance. The Nano architecture maintained full operational continuity through sunrise, dusk, and PIR events without instability. These findings establish the Nano-based design as a highly efficient, robust, and field-ready architecture suitable for solar lighting deployments. Further, simulated deployment demonstrated 35–45% energy savings relative to fixed‑output systems while satisfying average illuminance targets and maintaining >10 h nighttime security under typical day-night insolation. Conclusion: This research demonstrates that sensor‑controlled solar streetlights, engineered with budget components, can deliver reliable, energy‑efficient lighting for underdeveloped areas and provide a replicable blueprint for broader deployment in data‑underserved, resource‑limited communities. |
| title | Design and Performance Evaluation of Energy-Efficient Smart Streetlights in Rural Communities in Countries with Limited Resources |
| topic | Solar Smart Streetlight Arduino-Based Control System Energy Efficiency Optimization Off-Grid Renewable Lighting Low-Power Embedded Systems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19205111 |