Automation Project, from the degree in Electrical Engineering at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra (ISEC) allows varying the intensity of lighting and implementing remote monitoring.
E-REDES in partnership with the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra (ISEC) launches the Luxifer project within the scope of the use of the FlexIP System, the energy distribution operator’s public lighting remote management system, which allowed testing a new communications protocol at distance to create a smart grid and the impact of these solutions on the electricity grid.
In Coimbra, at Quinta de São Jerónimo, it was possible to verify how this LoRaWAN communication protocol coexists with the FlexIP System network existing on site. This test, which focused on 20 LED luminaires, with point-to-point controllers, made it possible to control each one individually.
The objective was to validate the operation of the Luxifer project controllers through the FlexIP System platform, in a real environment, after carrying out joint tests with an E-REDES team at ISEC, in 2023, which demonstrated their correct performance.
To carry out the first tests, two luminaires with controllers from the Luxifer project were installed on the ISEC campus, operating from that time until the present.
The Luxifer project, led by a team of two master’s students in Electrical Engineering, João Cardoso and João Ferreira, under the guidance of teachers Cristian Agreira and José Pedro Amaro, aims to understand the impact on the electrical network of synchronism in the rapid actions of IP LED luminaire controllers.
The LED technology used in public lighting in cities allows for radically less intrusive and more sustainable operation. In the future, it may be possible, under circumstances duly agreed with the population, to return to having starry skies in our cities.
