A Simplified Life Cicle Assessment applied to a coupled Solar and Eolic street ligh

Abstract

The idea of a street light which would be independent of the power grid and which would be in the same time ‘ecological’ is to be demonstrated. To answer this question, the environmental impacts of a Solar and Eolic street light called SOLEOL are quantified using a simplified Life Cycle Assessment (i.e. using simplified inputs for the photovoltaic system and the generator).

The chosen Functional Unit is: ‘the lighting during 25 years with LED lamps with a power of about 2500 lumens’. The data corresponding to the Life Cycle Inventory are divided into the classical four phases of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.

The environmental impacts are valuated and aggregated; then a comparison is made with a conventional street light. It is shown that the SOLEOL and the conventional street lights are generally at the same level, except for the non-renewable energy consumption where the SOLEOL is better for the environment, and for aquatic toxicity where the SOLEOL street light has a greater impact.

This study shows that a street light said to be environmentally friendly could have in fact a greater impact on the environment, but in our case, and even if no optimization has been made on it, the SOLEOL street light is honorably placed relatively to conventional street lights.