Solar Powered Lighting System for Educational Institutions: Assessing Efficiency and Sustainability

Electricity wastage from lighting systems in educational institutions is a prevalent issue, with classroom lights often left on unnecessarily when unoccupied.This project addresses this problem by developing an Automatic-Lighting-Control-System that aims to save electricity through efficient management of classroom lighting.The system utilizes an IR motion sensor to detect human presence and a relay control to switch lights on or off accordingly, illuminating only occupied areas of the classroom.A counter-bidirectional approach using two IR sensors at entry/exit points counts the number of occupants to control lighting levels based on the density of people present.The system is powered by a solar-photovoltaic unit, comprising solar panels, a charge controller, and batteries, making it an eco-friendly solution.Experiments were conducted to analyze the solar panel's performance under varying temperatures and weather conditions in the local climate.Findings revealed the solar panel's efficiency reached up to 80% during peak sunshine hours, with temperature inversely affecting voltage output.In classrooms with lower student counts, significant energy savings of up to 3.19W/h were achieved compared to conventional lighting systems.This system presents a sustainable solution for minimizing electricity wastage in classroom lighting by intelligently managing illumination levels through occupancy sensing and solar-powered operation.