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THE SOLAR TREE a green urban lighting experiment

Presented by ZIAD DEBBAS

Build it Green Lebanon ExhibitionMonroe Hotel, Beirut, March 28th 2011

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Est. in 1910, Debbas is a lighting & electrical turnkey solutions group, operating in 15 countries, 3 manufacturing plants, 1,000 employees, $170 million in 2010 revenues

Over 2,000 projects successfully completed worldwide…

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Piazza della Scala, Milan, December 2007

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MAK, Vienna, October 2007

SOLAR TREEAn experiment

Revolutionary urban lighting concept

perfect symbiosis between pioneering design and cutting-edge “green” technology.

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SOLAR TREEDesign by Ross Lovegrove

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Research and experimentation on the concept of lighting;

innovation and technology in the utilisation and control of light;

extreme attention to eco-compatible materials and to environmental needs in general;

a deeply rooted vocation for fine design:

SOLAR TREE Principles for Public Lighting

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SOLAR TREE – the design

Green Energy Design, Milan, April 2008

Solar Tree draws inspiration from the organic forms of nature, reinterpreting the morphology of the tree and introducing the sensuality of the natural world into the urban context.

In the words of Ross Lovegrove,

“This is a project that celebrates design, nature and art and represents the DNA of our time”.

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A sinuously elegant tree with ecologically intelligent ‘fruits’ – that is, the LED bubbles that light up at night powered by the sunlight accumulated during the day by solar panels.

The aesthetic refinement of the design is thus integrated with an extremely high technological content.

SOLAR TREE – the designP

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The structure consists of curved steel poles of different diameters, with an overall height of 5.5 metres.

The 10 heads, which are capped by photovoltaic cells, are supported by poles 76 mm in diameter;

20 white LEDs of 1 W each are situated at the bottom part of 4 of these poles on an aluminium dissipator, a PMMA lens holds them in place.

Each of the 10 “grass stalks” (ø 40 mm, optional) has a 1W LED at its end protected by a lens made of PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate).

The hot-cured zinc-coated sheet-steel foot is hooked to the ground. Alternatively, a basement also of zinc-coated steel with reinforced-concrete ballasts is available, forming a round seat. In this case the basement can be placed on the ground.

SOLAR TREE – the product

SOLAR TREE – the product4560

Class IIP protection: IP 65Illuminance at 25% of maximum power: Em= 8 lux on 12 x 12m areaIlluminance with “Heads” at 350mA Em= 25 luxon 12 x 12m area

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SOLAR TREE – the product

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLSNumber of heads with photovoltaic cells: 10Output voltage for each head: 10 VPeak power for each head : 63 W circa

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SOLAR TREE – the product

LED HEADSNumber of heads with LED : 4Power of each head : 23.1W at 350mA (typical drive current), maximum drive current: 500mANumber of LED: 20 power Led for each headTypical luminous flux (for each head): 1900 Lm Led colour temperature : 4300K +/- 200K (unless otherwise agreed )

LED GRASS STALKSTotal number of “stalks”: 10Power of each “stalk”: 1 W at 350mA

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SOLAR TREE – the product

BATTERY1. cable junction box for the 10 solar panels, luminous stalks and e-management of recharge energy;cable junction box for public net and battery feeding and heads and stalks

2-4. battery boxNumber of batteries: 2Battery voltage: 12 VCapacity of each battery : 240 Ah

3. USB port for diagnostics / setup / access service

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SOLAR TREE – operation

ONLY BATTERIES configurationbattery capacity is able to supply energy for independent operation for up to 10 days with full charge

HYBRID configurationNetwork connection supplies energy to the appliance when the batteries are depleted to ensure full operation even in case of persistent bad weather and/or limited sun irradiation

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OPERATION MODES:

AUTOMATIC: 1. ECO 2. FULL PERFORMANCE3. CUSTOM4. MIX

MANUAL

SOLAR TREE – operation

1. ECO PROGRAMME: 350mA feeding

N. HOURS AFTER SUNSET:100% operation

Em=25 lux on 12x12m area

NIGHT HOURS:25% operation

Em=8 lux on 12x12m area

N. HOURS BEFORE SUNRISE:100% operation

Em=25 lux on 12x12m area

In this mode, the group of “grass stalks” are automatically switched off18

SOLAR TREE – operation

2. FULL PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME: 500mA feeding

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N. HOURS AFTER SUNSET NIGHT HOURS N. HOURS BEFORE SUNRISE

This program always works to maximize the luminous performance (with reference to the availability of energy input).

In this mode, the group of “grass stalks” are automatically switched ON

SOLAR TREE – operation

3. CUSTOM PROGRAMME: The user can define the appliance operation time and profile at whim

4. MIX PROGRAMME: It allows the creation of sequences of different operation modes throughout the year, in which case you can use in sequence mode "ECO", "FULL PERFORMANCE" and "CUSTOM”

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SOLAR TREE – operation

MANUAL: precise setting of the light output of each of the four heads and of the group of grass stalks. Only in this operation mode is possible to obtain emissions varied between a head and another.

You can choose the drive current of the LED circuits (heads+stalks).The change of the light will run in real time by the system.

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0%

100%

350 mA

500 mA

HEAD N. 1 HEAD N. 2 HEAD N. 3 HEAD N. 4 STALKS

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