Decrease of energy demands of lighting installations in road tunnels based in the forestation of portal surroundings with climbing plants

Peña-García, Antonio; López, Juan Carlos; Grindlay, Alejandro L.

doi:10.1016/j.tust.2014.11.010

Cited by 51 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…To comply with the required lighting demand (both at the beginning and end of the tunnel) with artificial lighting systems, it is necessary to use a significant amount of electric power. This implies that the lighting system must be formed by a high number of light sources, presenting high costs due to the construction of the structure and energy management of the road tunnel [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Optimization of Road Tunnel Lighting Systems

et al. 2015

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A road tunnel is an enclosed and covered infrastructure for the vehicular traffic. Its lighting system provides 24 h of artificial sources only, with a higher amount of electric power used during the day. Due to safety reasons, when there is natural lighting outside the tunnel, the lighting levels in the stretches right after the entrance and before the exit must be high, in order to guide the driver's eye towards the middle of the tunnel where the luminance must guarantee safe driving, avoid any over-dimensioning of the lighting systems, and produce energy savings. Such effects can be reached not only through the technological advances in the field of artificial lighting sources with high luminous efficiency, but also through new materials for road paving characterized by a higher reflection coefficient than other ordinary asphalts. This case study examines different technical scenarios, analyzing and comparing possible energy and economic savings. Traditional solutions are thus compared with scenarios suggesting the solutions previously mentioned. Special asphalts are interesting from an economic point of view, whereas the high costs of LED sources nowadays represent an obstacle for their implementation. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 9665

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Optimization of Road Tunnel Lighting Systems

et al. 2015

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“…It is also remarkable that the efforts to decrease the huge economic, environmental and energy consumption of the lighting installations of tunnels have included forestation of portals, which simultaneously contributes to the stability of the mountainside [40]; special devices to regulate the luminous flux [41]; and special pavements to improve road reflectance, resulting in a subsequent decrease in the installed power [42,43]. In this regard, the use of incinerated sewage sludge ash could have potential disadvantages with regard to its future applications in brick manufacturing, as the increase of tempering water required could raise the drying costs, and the addition of an anti-scum agent could increase the production costs [29].…”

Section: Lighting Infrastructures: Use Of Sunlight In Road Tunnelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proposal to Foster Sustainability through Circular Economy-Based Engineering: A Profitable Chain from Waste Management to Tunnel Lighting

et al. 2017

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Abstract:The increasing demands of infrastructures in terms of energy consumption, raw material demand, greenhouse gas emissions, waste management, treatment of components after their lifetime period, and financial costs are nowadays a serious threat for sustainability. Given that the resources are limited, it is difficult to ensure an accurate level of well-being for future generations. For this reason, new perspectives in design, production and consumption are necessary. In this work, the principles of circular economy are applied to concrete branches of engineering. Departing from a design orientated to new uses after life period of infrastructures, a circular economy-aimed engineering makes possible the connection and mutual profit of such different branches like waste management and tunnel lighting. The benefits in environmental and financial terms are a strong argument in favor of a stronger link between engineering and circular economy.

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“…Other methods that do not involve the sunscreen structures for reducing lighting demand in tunnel threshold zones include the injection of sunlight, the forestation of tunnel portals, and the optimization of lighting system controls . The sunlight tunnel (SLT) equation is a tool used to predict how much energy these types of systems can save in typical cases …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of semitransparent photovoltaics in transportation infrastructure for energy savings and solar electricity production: Toward novel net‐zero energy tunnel design

Sun

Athienitis

D'Avignon

2019

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Lighting subsystems account for up to 50% of the energy consumption of a typical tunnel. Day‐time lighting levels account for over two‐thirds of the total system lighting power; their periodic nature creates daily peaks in the tunnel's energy load profile. This paper studies the integration of semitransparent photovoltaic (STPV) cells into sunscreen structures installed above tunnel entrances to reduce tunnel lighting requirements and offset their day‐time lighting loads using energy generated from PVs. The electrical lighting load of a typical 1‐km length road tunnel with and without STPV sunscreen structures was modeled to establish the potential for energy savings. Using a daylighting and energy modeling plug‐in called DIVA, the transparencies and ratios of photovoltaics (PV) to glass of a STPV sunscreen that are in accordance with the luminance reduction code requirements were determined. Reduced lighting requirements over the whole tunnel length, including the threshold, transition, and interior lighting zones of the tunnel were considered, resulting in significant energy savings. The annual power production of the sections covered with STPV was then simulated using the PVsyst software. The integration of PV cells resulted in an annual energy production that reduced annual net‐energy use by up to 7% and with the potential to reduce electric lighting loads by up to 60% during the day‐time. Results also demonstrated that STPV sunscreens have the potential to meet luminance requirements if supplemented with an intelligent lighting control system.

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Decrease of energy demands of lighting installations in road tunnels based in the forestation of portal surroundings with climbing plants

Cited by 51 publications

References 15 publications

Energy Optimization of Road Tunnel Lighting Systems

Energy Optimization of Road Tunnel Lighting Systems

Proposal to Foster Sustainability through Circular Economy-Based Engineering: A Profitable Chain from Waste Management to Tunnel Lighting

Application of semitransparent photovoltaics in transportation infrastructure for energy savings and solar electricity production: Toward novel net‐zero energy tunnel design

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