Introduction

With the popularity of LED street lights, one application is to stop using them when lighting is not needed. To that end, most high-quality outdoor light fixtures today come with a factory-installed photocell that tells the light when it should work and when not. This is mainly used to turn off the LED street light with photocell system at dawn and automatically turn it back on when the sun goes down.

There are many types of photovoltaic cells on the market, but the technology behind them is all the same, using semiconductors to control the electrical current, allowing for a “dusk to dawn” light output. Photocells are light detectors, and when light is detected, a current begins to flow within the semiconductor and the LED light fixture will be turned off, and vice versa. This article mainly talks about the application of Photocell in street lamps, and you can read it if you are interested.

The situation of street light application

When night falls, LED street lights illuminate the subway construction site, illuminate the mountains, and illuminate people’s solid roads to prosperity. On the road, LED street lights illuminate the beauties of the street, the modern subway construction site volume, and the way to home for people who get off work.

Street lights are the “eyes” of the city. In recent years, the pace of urban construction has increased by leaps and bounds. LED street lights have been recognized as green and energy-saving lighting devices. Therefore, the design of street lighting is also becoming more and more important. These lights can also be easily installed on remote roads or highways without electricity.

LED street lights provide clear vision for pedestrians and drivers. High-quality lighting LED light system, beautify night city area without polluting the environment. Because LED has the characteristics of high efficiency, environmental protection, energy saving, long life, and so on, LED light sources can be the first to be used in street and tunnel lighting. ZGSM solves all led street light problems for you!

The current expectations of led street light control

Lighting is certainly one of the fundamental aspects of the “Smart Cities” project where technologies will merge to give rise to a future more sustainable, efficient, and environmentally friendly “smart cities”.

In order to solve many led street lights problems, use Intelligent Street Lighting Systems, it’s all computerized, and all you have to do is set the desired time.

Remote management

Remote management, remote diagnosis, LED lighting, electric vehicle charging stations, widespread video surveillance, home automation, and broadband wi-fi Internet are the technologies that will play key roles in the innovation process of our cities.

Intelligent lighting controller, also known as programmable lighting controller, that is, the lighting program of the controller can be modified according to the needs of the user, such as modifying the speed, time, pattern, synchronization, and asynchrony of the light flashing.

Smart street lighting Systems ( This smart LED street light solution for a residential community in Israel shows how intelligent lighting systems can be efficiently deployed in new developments. ) turn on the street lights every night at nightfall. Street lighting in cities provides safer traffic conditions and a safer pedestrian environment. And Intelligent Street Lighting Systems can significantly improve the architectural, tourist, and commercial output of a city. And Intelligent Street Lighting is more affordable and less costly to maintain.

It also allows flexible, individual controls to replace inefficient timers. With the intelligent street lighting system up and running at all times, most lighting problems are detected and solved before the public even has a chance to notice them.

Energy saving

By dimming unnecessary lights and diverting power from faulty equipment, it can significantly reduce energy consumption. An intelligent light is switched on and off automatically by a system that automatically switches off lights and senses pedestrians and vehicles. This saves on wasted electricity to a large extent. Thus saving the cost of LED street lights while significantly optimizing the long-term operation of your LED street light with photocell deployment. It also immediately reduces energy costs by up to 35% through intelligent on/off switching, targeted progressive dimming, and efficient consumption management. This means that intelligent light also automatically senses the light intensity of the environment and adjusts the brightness automatically.

Cutting public spending linked to energy users, by improving and innovating infrastructures, will make it possible to create new jobs by being able to use those resources saved in other projects of public interest.

Easy to maintain

Intelligent street lighting enables the computer to report faults in real-time, speeding up maintenance work. Maintenance teams no longer need to patrol the streets. They are notified in detail of any faults. Intelligent lighting systems send a detailed analysis of street lighting defects and necessary materials to the maintenance staff’s computers. This solves most led street lights problems. The lighting system is compatible with IOS and Android. This ensures that you get a real-time web map, a list of street lights, and access to the system’s functions. Even if you are traveling fast, intelligent lights can capture the sensations in time.

The defects of time control only

The advantage of time control is that according to the time of sunrise and sunset, the lights are basically on when it is dark, and the lights are off when it is bright. The disadvantage is that it is cloudy and rainy, and the street lights cannot be automatically turned on when the light is insufficient. The seasons change with time, from the winter solstice to the summer solstice, the light on time gradually postponed, the light of time gradually advanced. During the transition from the summer solstice to the winter solstice, the time of turning on the lights is gradually advanced and the time of turning off the lights is gradually delayed, so human beings are still unable to ensure the weather changes in each time period. Changes in the weather can change the time of darkness/dawn. This may result in the fact that it is already dark and the lamp is not turned on, or that it is already daylight and the lamp is not turned off. A waste of energy in a way, this is an LED street lights problem that needs to be solved. On sunny and rainy days, ON and OFF times differ noticeably which is one of the major disadvantages of using timer circuits for switching the street light LED system.

What is a photocell?

A photocell (also commonly named a daylight sensor or dusk-to-dawn sensor) is an automatic control device whose on/off standard is based on the illumination value surrounding the LED street light.

From a technical standpoint, a photocell or photocontrol operates as a light-dependent resistor (LDR) whose internal resistance value (measured in ohms) fluctuates depending on how much light hits its surface:

• Bright Daylight: High-intensity light shining on the sensor surface produces a significantly lower resistance (typically around 5,000 ohms).
• Nighttime Darkness: Low-intensity light or total darkness produces an extremely high resistance (up to 20,000,000 ohms).

With the assistance of an internal triode, the system detects this high resistance at night to turn the circuit ON, and switches it OFF when light levels increase during the day. If you are more interested in the detailed schematic circuit diagram, you can refer to our related articles.

The defects of daylight control only 

The advantage of light control is that it can determine whether the street lights are on or not according to the strength of the light on the road. Sometimes even in the daytime, it will be caused by cloudy and rainy days, and the road luminance is low. At this time, the street lights will be on to meet the lighting requirements. The disadvantage is that because there is a lot of dust on the road, it is easy to cover the surface of the photosensitive element that receives the signal, making the signal inaccurate.

The combination of time control and daylight control

The intelligent control system of a modern LED street light with photocell can be seamlessly combined with both time-schedule and ambient light controls. In the time range of sunrise and sunset, when the illuminance meets the requirements of switching lights, the system will automatically send instructions to switch on and off the street lights. Using advanced control technology, the fusion light control function and the ordinary time controller have a large number of functions as a whole. According to the user’s energy-saving needs, the light control probe and the time control function can be activated at the same time, which will achieve the best energy-saving effect.

Daylight control and time control mode, which can turn on the lights during heavy rain and foggy weather during the day, and turn off the lights in the middle of the night at night.

It is the best energy-saving control device for street lights. It can be widely used in streets, railways, stations, waterways, schools, power supply departments, and other applications that require time control and light control.

The scientific principle of photocell

To understand how an LED street light with photocell works, the underlying principle of light control relies on photoresistors, and other photosensitive elements. That is, when the light intensity irradiated on the element changes, its related parameters: current flowing, resistance value, etc. will change accordingly.  A collection of components that detect this change in the photosensitive element and use it to control other systems is called light control.

The conditions of LED street light with photocell

Both DC LED street lights and AC LED street lights can be installed with a photocell. When the person wants the street light to be turned on/off automatically, photocell is a good choice.

LED street light with photocell needs to be installed with a receptacle/base such as 3 pin Nema socket, or 5 pin Nema socket, or 7 pin Nema socket or other bases.

Video of Rifle Street Light with photocell

As demonstrated in the video, the ZGSM Rifle Series Street Light supports 3-pin, 5-pin, and 7-pin NEMA socket photocells. By combining our 191 lm/W high-efficacy design with dusk-to-dawn photocontrols, municipal projects can slash annual maintenance and energy expenditures by over 50%.

The basic function of led street light with photocell

Most outdoor LED street lighting fixtures with photocell can make street lights turn on and turn off automatically. It can sense ambient light level, photocells automatically adjust to seasonal changes in the day/night cycle. Also, you can choose the light level that fits your local situation. This can also be used to turn various outdoor lights on at dusk and turn off when the sunsets. This is widely used for outdoor LED lights such as LED garden lights, LED floodlights, LED street lights, and so on.  

Knowing the basic function of LED street lights with photocell will give you a deeper understanding of excellent lighting solutions so as to achieve the best energy-saving effect.

Precautions when installing LED street light with photocell

While installing a photocell on the street light, disconnect the power supply, wire the receptacle carefully, and align the photocell with the arrow indicating "NORTH" on top of the receptacle to assist with the correct direction. Push the photocontrol down firmly and turn it clockwise to lock it securely into the receptacle.

To ensure accurate operation and reliable waterproofing, an LED street light with a photocell must be installed outdoors in natural daylight. Avoid areas where artificial light might directly irradiate the sensor, and keep the window clean to prevent misoperation.

When these installation steps are followed, LED street lights with photocells can be effectively deployed in a variety of outdoor applications, including parking lots, pathways, bike trails, parks, squares, and outdoor arenas. They provide ample, uniform lighting while minimizing electricity consumption through automated dusk-to-dawn dimming.

Therefore, configuring modern fixtures with daylight sensors ( What is the difference between a 3, 5, and 7 pin NEMA base? ) has proven to be extremely cost-effective for municipal projects. Although there is a minor upfront investment for the NEMA receptacle and photocontrol accessory, utilities will achieve a rapid ROI.

The photocell automatically switches off the lights at dawn, drastically lowering energy and maintenance expenditures. Furthermore, since advanced LEDs last significantly longer than traditional HID lamps, maintenance teams can eliminate frequent bulb replacements.

To unlock the maximum efficiency of your smart lighting network, engineers can explore more comprehensive options. For instance, you can learn more about different street lighting controls to seamlessly combine daylight sensors with programmable timers for premium smart city developments.

The price for LED street light with photocell

LED street lights with photocell can minimize energy costs with good performance for LED outdoor street lights. Below is the LED street light price with photocell, only for reference. The cost of a street light includes the streetlight itself, streetlight accessories, installation costs, and maintenance costs. For more information regarding the led street lights cost, you can check our blog How much do the street lights cost.

Conclusion

The combination of LED street lights and intelligent control is the future trend. As a kind of sensor, a photocell can realize the automatic ON/OFF of street lamps, but it has its own shortcomings. If it can be used with other functions, for example, timer street light dimming, it can make the street lamps play a greater energy-saving effect.

As a LED street light manufacturer, we have rich experience in the design of street lighting and application of LED lights street, with various sensors ( Learn more about choosing the right street light sensor system for smart street lighting projects. ) and intelligent control systems, and can help you solve many led street lights problems. Please contact the ZGSM team to obtain your satisfactory street lights.

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People also ask

Author introduction

Hello Customers,

My name is Taylor Gong, I’m the product manager of ZGSM Tech. I have been in the LED lights industry for more than 13 years. Good at lighting design, street light system configuration, and bidding technology support. Feel free to contact us. I’m happy to provide you with the best service and products.

Email: [email protected] | WhatsApp: +8615068758483

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