Solar-powered lighting is ideal for use in the construction industry and is increasingly being adopted due to its energy efficiency, enhanced safety, and minimal environmental impact.
Construction sites rely on lighting for safe and successful operations, and when powered by renewable solar energy, can also provide ample opportunity to reduce costs and improve the site’s sustainability credentials.
Workers depend on lighting to see hazards and work safely, and insufficient lighting can have numerous impacts, including decreased alertness, productivity, reaction time and cognitive function; and increased accidents, health impacts, sensitivity to light, and fatigue.
While diesel towers for onsite lighting solutions are still used, they are expensive to run and maintain (with various components such as air filters and generators that may fail) and are becoming less common as awareness of sustainable alternatives grows.
A solution that is gaining wider traction in the industry is standalone mobile solar light towers, which are completely self-powered and emission-free. Importantly, they are just as bright and powerful as diesel lighting plants, but emit no fumes or noise and require no fuel and minimal maintenance.
These towers combine high-watt solar panels withlarge-capacity battery banks to power energy-efficient LEDlights, and are designed to be resilient to harsh conditions.
Research published in the International Journal of Applied Science Engineering and Management pointed out that lighting on average made up about 15 per cent of total electricity used in industry.
It also highlighted recent developments in lighting technology that provide a major scope to achieve energy efficiency at the design stage, by incorporating modern energy-efficient lamps like LED and other innovations.
Integrating solar power generation with LED lighting has been shown to increase power efficiency while reducing dependency on fossil fuel-based power sources such as diesel.
While voltage sensitivities and temperature dependence create limitations on LED market growth, the recently-started transition to smart and industry4.0-connected LED lighting represents enormous growth potential for the market.
Significant energy savings can be achieved by replacing inefficient lights with efficient LED alternatives, which use around 75 per cent less electricity than incandescent and halogen light bulbs to produce the same amount of light.
They also last considerably longer before needing to be replaced, lasting between five and 15 times longer than halogen lamps.
Last year, Australian and Korean researchers developed a new solar cell that achieved record-breaking power conversion efficiencies in low-light indoor environments, giving it strong potential for application in indoor/partially indoor and low-light areas at construction sites.
The two novel components of the solar cell are the mineral perovskite (instead of the usual silicon) to generate electricity, while an aluminium layer is employed to reduce energy leaks.
Professor Shujuan Huang, Director in Photovoltaics at Macquarie’s Sustainable Energy Research Centre, said the research marked a breakthrough in the amount of energy generated from indoor lighting using perovskite solar cells.
She added that it opened up exciting possibilities for self-powered Internet of Things devices and sensors for automation and monitoring in industrial settings.Prof Huang said: “By efficiently harvesting indoor light, this technology can revolutionise the way we power electronics, reducing our reliance on disposable batteries and promoting a more sustainable future.”
