In Spain, they presented a flashlight, working simultaneously from two sources of energy
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Recently, energy saving is quite urgent, and experts are developing various ways that would allow the generation of energy from natural sources, such as wind or sun.
Today not only city authorities, but also experts think about the question of how to save on street lighting without losing efficiency. Some cities already use street lights that work on an alternative energy source, but experts from Spain decided to make improvements and develop lanterns that could work simultaneously from two natural sources of energy, for example, from wind and sun.
The new system was developed by specialists from the Catalan Polytechnic University in cooperation with Eolgreen.
Work on the creation of the lighting system was conducted for four years, and such lanterns were intended specifically to illuminate intercity routes, parks and city streets.
This system is unique and has no analogues. As the developers themselves note, using such lighting can save 20% of the costs, in comparison with the currently used street lighting systems.
The first image model, 10 m high at the moment, is equipped with a battery, LED lighting, solar panels, a wind generator and an electric control system, through which the distribution of energy between the components of the system is controlled.
The speed of rotation of the wind generator is from 10 to 200 vol. Per minute, it is able to work with a maximum output of up to 400W. The developers were striving to make the system as environmentally friendly as possible, and work has now begun on the creation of a second imaginative model of the wind turbine, whose speed will be from 10 to 60 vol. Per minute, in addition, it will be less powerful - 100 watts.
According to the idea of experts, street lights will be equipped with two LED lights produced by Philips, an electric battery, two solar panels with a power of 100W. The LiFePO4 battery can hold up to 84 hours on a single charge, and an extra, more capacious battery can work up to 156 hours (about 7 days) without recharging.
The new lighting system is able to work outside the city's power grid.
In addition, the developers have thought out an opportunity that will allow the administrator to monitor the work of flashlights, promptly identify and fix malfunctions.
One of the developers of the new system explained that a small amount of wind is needed to produce energy - the generator starts at a wind speed of only about two meters per second (currently used wind generators require a minimum wind speed of 2.5 meters).
The young company Eolgreen has already signed agreements for the purchase of systems for lighting city streets with several cities of Andalusia (the Spanish Autonomous Community), Gerona, Sant Boi de Llobregat. Over the course of this year, the company plans to produce about 700 lanterns for street lighting.
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