Control planning for autonomous off-grid outdoor lighting systems based on energy consumption preferences

Abstract

The paper focuses on establishing plans for autonomous offgrid lighting devices. Such a device is equipped with photo-voltaic panels, an energy storage and light points. The plan enables the device to take actions depending on energy availability to ensure compliance with user preferences. The preferences define how the device has to (hard requirements) or should (soft requirements) illuminate a given area. The hard requirements have to be met, while the soft requirements are optional. Having the preferences and the plan enables the device to conserve harvested energy simultaneously meeting all hard requirements and, when possible, fulfilling the soft ones, optimizing energy consumption.