Design and construction of 36W automatic solar street light using Solar panel, charge controller, led and with battery

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background Information

Electricity is a general term comprising of a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in a cable. In addition, electricity comprises less familiar concepts such as the electromagnetic field and electromagnetic induction.

Electricity is extremely important and useful in our present world without which most of our daily activities cannot be accomplished. Generally, electricity has failed us in developing countries such as Nigeria thereby leaving us in search of alternative means to save both the government and ourselves. Hence, technology has focused on basically the use of other means other than the normal electricity generated by the nation.

This gave rise to the use of other sources of energy like being able to convert some natural sources like the sun i.e. from solar to electrical energy etc. 

Energy used in developing countries like Nigeria has risen drastically over the past decades and is expected to continue increasing rapidly in the future. The increase in the services that energy provides is necessary and desirable, since energy services are essential for economic growth, improved living standards, and to provide for increased human populations. As the cost of energy and its need have continually risen, increasing effort has gone into minimizing the energy consumption of lighting usage.

The generation of electric power can be dated back to the early seventeenth century and ever since then the demand for electric power has been growing in a very geometric rate. Due to the nature of the electric energy it cannot be stored after production because, it is produced to meet the electricity demand per time. Over the years, major effort has been made in the area of generation, transmission, and distribution to maximize the available electric power and minimize the waste of this very essential commodity. It is very important in power generation and transmission to minimize waste because it leads to shortage and overall epileptic power supply.

Most streets and major roads use the Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) lamp for illumination. These low pressure sodium bulbs are produced in various power rating. The low pressure sodium bulbs are one of the major domestic consumers of electric power generation. Due to its misuse, they account for the largest waste to power supply in Nigeria.

Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used which may be achieved through efficient energy use.

The idea of energy conservation brought about the use of automatic street light system for outdoor lighting. The idea of this project would aid in power consumption due to illumination and promote conservation of energy by maximizing the use of natural lighting and minimizing the use of electric energy.