An ecological feasibility study for developing sustainable street lighting system

The recognition of the humans, vehicles or any other objects in the outdoor environment, such as roads, streets, pedestrian ways, car parking and public parks, is only possible with illumination after dark. The outdoor lighting consumes significant amounts of electricity. The best short-term payout period for reduction in energy consumption is implementation of energy efficiency solutions. A shift from traditional illumination technology to the advanced lighting solutions has the ability for significant energy savings. The main focus of this study is to find out the most suitable, environmentally friendly and “green” solution(s) to fulfill the outdoor lighting requirements. It includes ecological impact assessment of commonly available lighting technologies for outdoor illumination, such as high pressure sodium, compact fluorescent and light emitting diode, by using Sustainable Process Index methodology. The effects of different alternative energy resources and the impacts of geographical locations due to variations in energy provision system (i.e. energy mix) are also considered in this study. The obtained results show that Sustainable Process Index ranges from 258 km2 to 7760 km2 and carbon footprint from 930 t CO2 eq. to 48,496 t CO2 eq. to fulfill lighting requirement for 100,000 h of lighting. These results are compared with Sustainable Process Index and Carbon Footprint caused by high pressure sodium and light emitting diode luminaires providing electricity from Saudi Arabian electricity network.