Experimental pilot project for automating street lighting system in Abu Dhabi using powerline communications

This paper presents details on a pilot project using power lines as communications medium in automating the lighting system of a highway between Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain cities in Abu Dhabi Emirate, (UAE). The need for automating the lighting system is explained and selection of power line communications (PLC) technology to serve the lighting management system is justified. An experimental lighting control scheme is designed for creating preprogrammed switching and reporting routines. The system design-parameters that influence the operation and the reliability of different system components are also considered in this paper. The implementation of the project is discussed and field tests are presented. Experimental measurements are obtained and analyzed to identify the viability of large-scale implementation of the project.