E-REDES, in partnership with the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra, is launching the Luxifer project using the FlexIP system, the energy distribution operator's public lighting remote management system, which has made it possible to test a new remote communications protocol to create a smart grid and the impact of these solutions on the electricity network.
In Coimbra, at Quinta de S. Jerónimo, it was possible to see how this communication protocol, LoRaWAN, coexists with the FlexIP system network on site. This test, which involved 20 LED luminaires with point-to-point controllers, made it possible to control each one individually. The aim was to validate the operation of the Luxifer project's controllers via the FlexIP System platform in a real environment, following joint tests with an E-REDES team at ISEC in 2023, which demonstrated their correct performance. To carry out the first tests, two luminaires with Luxifer project controllers were installed on the ISEC campus and have been in operation since then.
The Luxifer project, led by a team of two Master's students in Electrical Engineering, João Cardoso and João Ferreira, under the guidance of professors Cristian Agreira and José Pedro Amaro, aims to understand the impact on the electrical network of the synchronism in the fast actions of IP LED luminaire controllers.
The LED technology used in public lighting in cities allows for radically less intrusive and more sustainable operation.
