26 Hilversum Sportpark and Blerick, Solar masts

26.1

At Blerick station (see chapter 18), the lighting was replaced. The existing ramp and stairs were scheduled to be relocated in 2 years later. There was no lighting for the existing stairs and ramp. The Lighting Programme installed temporary lighting for the existing stairs and ramp. When installing lampposts, the excavation work for the foundations and cables is the most costly (around €200 per metre of cable trench). To save on expensive excavation work in Blerick, we installed temporary Solar masts by InfraMarks (see the photo below). The masts feature a solar panel and a battery and work without a power cable. The concrete base is very heavy to prevent the post from being blown over with the panel. The box with the battery and controls is positioned on top of the concrete base. We considered leasing the solar masts, but if the duration of ‘temporary’ is unknown, it is better to buy and resell later.

On a dark December day with only 4 hours of sunlight, the panel will reach just 30% of its capacity. On a summer day, the sun provides 1000W/m2. A good solar panel can covert 200W/m2 into electricity. The solar panels around the post are 2 metres long and 0.2 metres wide (0.4m2). This means that in the 4 sun hours per winter day, a yield of 60W/m2 x 4 hours x 0.4m2 = 96Wh can be achieved. ProRail requires LED fixtures with a yield of at least 100 Lm/w. The 7W Solar fixture is better with a yield of 150 Lm/W. As such, a 7W fixture can burn for almost 14 hours with 96Wh of generated energy. Dimming to 50% after 8 PM further increases the number of burning hours. Platform lighting switches off half an hour after the last train until half an hour before the first train (usually between 1 AM and 5 AM). This means that lampposts on platforms burn 4 hours less per night than public lighting. Therefore, the number of burning hours per night in winter from 5PM until 1 AM and from 5 AM until 8:30 AM is 8 + 3.5 = 11.5 hours per night (= 11.5 x 7 = 80Wh). We calculated that we are able to generate 96W per day in winter. This will do for a consumption of 80Wh per night. Signify calculates very conservatively and therefore applies a 640Wh battery (instead of the calculated 96Wh).

Tips and conclusions:

– Solar masts with a panel on top are prone to be blown over.

– Vertical solar panels seem inefficient, but are preferred due to their resistance to dirt.

– The battery of the Signify Solar posts is 8x too large.

– We will continue to monitor the Signify posts with the monitoring system.

We see good potential for Solar lampposts for platform extensions, for example.

Solar fixtures with integrated battery and panel are the challenge for the future.

26.2

Signify has developed a mast fixture with integrated battery and solar panel for use in India. The panel on the fixture for India is too small for sufficient daytime charging in the Netherlands. For Europe, Signify created solar panels that are fitted around an existing post like a collar. They are virtually dirt-proof due to their vertical position. The round shape of the panels means they catch little wind, preventing the lamppost from blowing over. We tested this on platform 2 at Hilversum Sportpark (see photo on the left).