In many towns and cities, lighting systems have not been updated over the last few decades; on the other side, technological improvements have been huge. In this activity, we propose to create or improve a lighting system in the school milieu with the aim of improving energy efficiency, while teaching the importance of optimising society's electricity consumption (with all the consequences this implies) and making a greater use of public resources.

The first question we can ask our students is if there is any place in the school environment where the use of lighting systems can be optimised. For example, a sports field or a public park. If the answer is yes, we can ask them to work as a team to try to propose a system that improves the environment.

This activity proposes to interact with different stakeholders, such as the Local Government (specifically, with the department in charge of the management of public places, or energy) with whom our students can discuss about the lighting systems or about the level of improvement, or with experts (professionals, university departments) in lighting systems (to know the latest technologies available in lighting) or technological companies (to know which technology can be used to create a system like this one).

Once the problem of the activity has been raised (How can we improve the lighting of public spaces in the school environment?), we propose to start with a gathering information phase (via the Internet or by consulting experts such as those mentioned above) and, after that, a work phase to propose solutions. In the best scenario, in a classroom there will be as many different solutions as number of workgroups.

Finally, we propose to present the conclusions achieved both to families and neighbours of the school surroundings and to the Public Administration, inviting them to implement them in a real scenario.

Learning Objectives

• Learn how to create a class project which can develop a solution to a real problem.
• Be informed about the different options that can give a solution to a real problem, and know how to choose the most appropriate for us.
• Improve the society around us.
• Raise awareness of the correct use of electricity and the need to optimize energy consumption.

RRI principles

One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI — Responsible Research and Innovation — principles (more information at RRI-Tools.eu). This is how this Accelerator fits into the RRI model:

Resources needed

Nothing special. Computer to search things, paper, pens, etc.

Other suggestions

• The more diverse the spaces with which one works in this activity, the richer the results will be.
• We think that it is important for students to be able to carry out real projects, and for example it would be ideal if the public administration could study them for implementation in the real environment.

• Enogés Consultores can provide technological support for the project. You can contact them at [email protected].
• As a reference, some lighting systems are proposed, although it is recommended that students look for those according to each problem they want to solve:
  • https://www.trilux.com/en/applications/outdoor/smart-city/smart-city/
  • http://www.lighting.philips.com/main/education/led-street-lighting
  • http://www.lighting.philips.com/main/company/beyond-illumination/smart-cities/smart-city-trends
  • https://www.osram.com/ls/light-for/smart-city/public-lighting/index.jsp
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_street_light
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_street_lighting
  • https://www.silverspringnet.com/solutions/smart-cities/smart-cities-street-lights/ and http://www.silverspringnet.com/wp-content/uploads/SSNI_SmartCity_Infographic_10022017_Final.pdf
  • https://intelilight.eu/intelligent-street-lighting-control/smart-city-platform/

Organization in charge of this Accelerator

This Accelerator has been developed by Maria José Vicente Neira, from Enogés Consultores. Here is her contact information:

María José Vicente Neira - [email protected]

Enogés Consultores S.L. - http://www.enoges.com/

Pase de Belén, 9ª, CTTA, 47011, Valladolid - Spain