Indoor Security Lighting with Solar Powered LED Technology

People are becoming increasingly concerned about protecting their properties from theft and vandalism. Insurance companies and police are very aware that satisfactory lighting is a plausible deterrent to crime. Although nearly any type of lighting helps reduce the risk of becoming a victim; correct lighting, when properly used, improves security. Most buildings are illuminated by a night light and the building is unoccupied. A security or night light allows the security personnel to check the building without turning other lights on. A drawback to leaving lights on is that it results in an increased electric bill and reduces the nation’s energy conservation efforts. Another drawback is that conventional security or night lights become non-functioning in electric outages. A viable solution to these shortcomings would be to use a battery powered energy source to power energy efficient DC/AC LED lights. Recently, students majoring in electronics/design and development programs were given an opportunity to design and build an indoor security light system for one of the lab facilities, a large metal building remotely located to the main campus and surrounded by residential properties. Some portions of the lab have interior night security lights, but the classroom sections did not. Along with the new design, the existing security lights were replaced with LED lights, and classroom areas were illuminated with new night LED security lights which are completely powered by a 170W solar module with a solar tracker system.