Design of a Solar-Powered Automatic Street Lighting System Using PIR Sensors for ESUT Campus

Frequent power outages and high electricity costs have rendered conventional street lighting unreliable on many Nigerian university campuses, including ESUT. This study designs a solar-powered automatic street lighting system that integrates passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors and a photovoltaic energy source to deliver responsive and energy-efficient illumination on the ESUT campus. The system design incorporates a 20-watt solar panel, 12-volt sealed lead-acid battery, charge controller, PIR sensor array, and LED luminaires controlled by an Arduino Uno microcontroller. The design methodology followed an iterative prototyping process, beginning with load calculation and site assessment, followed by component selection, circuit design, and bench testing. A prototype unit was installed at a selected walkway on campus for a four-week field trial. Results demonstrate that the system operated without grid input throughout the trial period, achieving average nightly energy savings of 68 percent compared to conventional fluorescent lighting. The PIR-triggered dimming feature reduced unnecessary full-brightness operation by 74 percent during low-traffic periods. Component reliability was maintained across weather variations recorded during the trial. The study concludes that PIR-integrated solar street lighting is a technically sound and cost-effective solution for Nigerian campus environments. Wider campus rollout and life-cycle cost analysis are recommended as next steps.