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Matinsa
develops
Knowledge
an intelligent lighting
system for tunnels
Matinsa, the FCC Group company enga-
ged in infrastructure maintenance, is wor-
king on the Dánae R+D+i project, an intelli-
gent lighting system for tunnels, within the
framework of a project funded by the Cen-
tre for Industrial Technological Development
(CDTI, Spanish acronym). CDTI is a public
entity attached to the Ministry of Economy
and Competitiveness which promotes inno-
vation and the technological development
of Spanish companies.
This system is able to automatically optimi-
se current lighting systems in tunnels. Fo-
llowing the necessary preliminary studies,
the system will function in an “intelligent”
manner, controlling lightning within the tun-
nel according to the outdoor light conditions
and weather, also taking into consideration
traffic density. According to the viability stu-
dies carried out, it will be possible to reduce
consumption between 15 and 20% without
the need to replace the current installations.
The system also features the possibility of
including up to five light metres within the
tunnel to verify that the light levels comply
with regulations and studies thereby easily
detecting any incidence and possible failu-
res in the installation.
According to O.C. 36/2015 “Volume II: Re-
commendations for lighting in tunnels” on
the criteria to apply to outdoor roads and
tunnels: “...lighting installations in tunnels
should be integrated in centralised tunnel
management programs and, if this does
not exist since it refers to a tunnel that does
not require it, it should be controlled by
means of automated systems”.
Based on the previous recommendations,
the main advantages of using the Dánae
system are as follows:
•
Ability to capture and transmit the
electrical characteristics of the com-
ponents of the installation, making it
possible to know these characteristics
in real time.
•
Makes it possible to turn the points of
light on or off according to a predefi-
ned management strategy.
•
Transmits information in the event of
unauthorised entry in the installations.
•
The utilisation of this system reduces
costs and improves the maintenance
work at the facilities, minimising the
periods in which the lights are turned
off when this should not be the case.
•
Records the variations in the voltage of
the electricity supply, detecting over-
voltage, thereby being able to take the
appropriate measures.
•
The communication protocols are
open and can be integrated in other
management systems or in SCADA.
•
Improves energy efficiency in existing
installations without having to make
any changes except for installing the
system.