Smart Street lights for a smarter and safer community

Lakshman Rao is the Managing Director of Kakatiya Energy Systems. Mr Rao has wide experience in developing and managing electronic manufacturing units and creating new concept-based products. He also has substantial patent rights to his credit. Under his leadership, Kakatiya Energy has formed significant partnerships with leading corporations like Bajaj, Crompton Greaves and Philips, among others.

Energy efficiency is one of the important strategies that is being implemented to try and keep pace with the growing demand for power in India, the third largest energy consumer country in the world. As energy and maintenance costs continue to increase, utilities and the local government are struggling to meet power expenditures. It has become imperative for utilities to keep the lights operational at night to prevent accidents, crimes and to maintain public safety in an efficient manner. That is where Kakatiya Energy Systems has developed sophisticated automated lighting control systems that save utilities and municipalities’ energy, time, and money by reducing wasted electricity and O&M expenditures.

An emerging economy like India will see exponential increase in energy consumption due to accelerated economic development. Public lighting currently consumes approximately seven per cent of all the power generated in the country, with a large portion from urban street lights which utilise over 6,000 MW of power in about 5,500 urban areas in India.

Kakatiya Energy Systems’ Nature Switch™ is an automated lighting control system that saves energy and manpower while maintaining public safety on roads. Nature Switch automates outdoor lighting systems, such as street lights, public utility areas, billboards and more, saving much needed energy. It is designed to automatically switch ON and OFF at dusk and dawn, completely eliminating the need for manual monitoring, saving manpower and energy wastage with immediate effect. It adjusts automatically to seasonal day length, requiring no manual reset at any point. It is also immune to artificial lights, and works without any interruptions.

It is also equipped with an overload sensor and latch facility to prevent damage that can be caused by overloads. It also provides safety during lighting installation.

Built to endure harsh environmental conditions, Nature Switch™ conforms to IP65 with a dust-free enclosure and is strong enough to withstand extreme heat or rain. Its backup rechargeable power storage system ensures that it continues to operate during power cuts and interruptions.

Another efficient feature offered for street lighting control is Kakatiya Energy Systems’ dimming option, called Save Switch. When used with high-performing luminous sources, the dimming feature lengthens the lamp’s lifespan and significantly reduces electricity consumption. The dimming feature of Save Switch is extremely beneficial in traditional High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps like High Pressure Sodium Vapor (HPSV) and Metal-halide (MH) which consume more energy due to high luminance levels.

Energy can be saved by using the dimming feature of Save Switch which is not just limited to high-peak times. Energy saved by dimming lights during non-peak hours or when there is less movement on the roads, can immediately begin reducing upto 40 percent of energy usage by dipping the wattage of HID lamps on national highways and state roads. On average, one 250 watt lamp, using Save Switch over the course of one year, can save 285 kWh of electricity, or about Rs 1700 (assuming seven hours per day at nonpeak operation at Rs 6/kWh). There are approximately 2.5 lakh street lights in South Delhi alone. If just one quarter of them utilise Save Switch, the city could save approximately 10.5 crores per year.